Sidney Crosby ruled out for Game 6 vs. Rangers

Update, May 13 — Crosby has been ruled out for Game 6 vs. the Rangers on Friday night. This drastically alters the outlook for the Penguins in this series. Not having your captain, leader, and best player will be pretty tough to overcome this late in the series. Pittsburgh is up 3-2 in the series and are at home for Game 6. That will help. Not having Tristan Jarry back in net also could hurt with Louis Domingue filling in again. Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Jake Guentzel will all have to step up in the absence of Crosby.

Update, May 12 — Crosby is going to be evaluated back in Pittsburgh prior to Game 6 on Friday night, per coach Mike Sullivan. The NHL announced there won’t be any discipline for Trouba after the hit. Not even a fine. It didn’t spark a penalty when it happened. It was also an unnecessary hit that caused a player to be injured.

Update — Crosby did not return to the game and the Penguins didn’t provide any update on his status after leaving. The Rangers were able to win 5-3 and extend the series to Game 6 on Friday night back in Pittsburgh. We’ll see if the Pens give an update on Crosby post-game. His status may be up in the air for Game 6, keep an eye on lines.

Pittsburgh Penguins C Sidney Crosby was forced to go to the locker room in the second period vs. the New York Rangers in Game 5 of their first-round series in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Here’s a look at the hit that forced Crosby to leave. Knowing his history of concussions, it didn’t look good.

Crosby was not on the bench to start the third period vs. the Rangers after exiting in the second. Malkin is centering Guentzel and Rust to start the third. With Crosby out early in the third, the Rangers were able to take a 4-3 lead on a power-play goal by Filip Chytil.

The hit below doesn’t look good. We could see discipline coming for Jacob Trouba by the NHL. Mostly because it’s Crosby and he’s got a history of head injuries. Trouba has been suspended in the past for a check to the head on Mark Stone. So there’s that to consider as well. It could be a game or two for Trouba coming.

Crosby was not seen on the bench toward the end of the period, which was pretty insane. Down 2-0, the Rangers scored three unanswered goals before Jake Guentzel scored his second of the game to tie it 3-33 heading into the final period. We don’t know if Crosby is dealing with an injury or not at this point. The Penguins lead the best-of-7 series 3-1.

Evgeni Malkin was seen subbing in for Crosby on the top line with Guentzel and Bryan Rust. We could see Malkin double-shifting for most of the third period if Crosby is unable to return. Pittsburgh has outscored New York 4-0 in the third period in the past two games, both wins. The Penguins won Game 1 of this series 4-3 in 3OT.

The Rangers are -145 on the live moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook as of now. If Crosby is ruled out, that line will shift pretty dramatically. The unknown of the situation is scary but without Crosby on the ice, the Rangers were able to completely flip this game and reset it. The live over/under is 8.5 goals, which feels like a lot in the most important period of the season. Louis Domingue could be wearing down in net, though most of the three-goal flurry wasn’t his fault.