Sidney Crosby Suffers Apparent Injury and Exits Game vs. Senators, Latest Updates on Penguins Star

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby exited Thursday's game against the Ottawa Senators, and the team announced he will not return.

He went to the dressing room, and reports indicated it appeared to be his left leg that was the issue. Notably, that was not the leg that was injured when he missed time during the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics:

Crosby, who played for Canada, missed the men's gold-medal game at the Olympics because of a lower-body injury and had to watch as his team lost to the United States in overtime.

He also missed 11 games upon the continuation of the NHL season following the Olympic break before returning to the lineup for a March 18 contest against the Carolina Hurricanes. Thursday was his fifth game back in the lineup since his absence.

The future Hall of Famer is a franchise icon and generational player.

His resume includes three Stanley Cup titles and two Hart Memorial Trophies as the league MVP. While he is not quite as dominant as he was at his peak in what is now his age-38 season, he entered play with 64 points on 36 assists and 28 goals.

If Crosby is forced to miss time, look for the Penguins to rely even more on the combination of Tommy Novak, Benjamin Kindel and Connor Dewar at center.

While there is never an ideal time for an injury, Pittsburgh is in the middle of a tight Eastern Conference playoff race. It entered Thursday's game one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for second place in the Metropolitan Division and one point ahead of the New York Islanders for third.

New York entered Thursday's slate tied with the Senators for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.