Canada’s Sidney Crosby ruled out of Olympic quarterfinal game with injury

Not a good sight for Canada.

During the second period of the team’s quarterfinal game against Czechia, captain Sidney Crosby exited the game due to an apparent lower-body injury.

Minutes into the middle stanza, Crosby was bringing the puck through the neutral zone when he tried to avoid a hit from Czech defenseman Radko Gudas. Crosby ended up getting awkwardly twisted under the veteran blueliner.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain tried to continue to play for a few seconds before limping off the ice. After being evaluated by the team’s training staff on the bench, he gingerly left his team and hobbled down the tunnel, favoring his leg.

Hockey Canada later announced that Crosby wouldn’t return to the game.

Crosby was listed as playing just 4:41 of ice time across seven shifts before exiting the game, with Canada trailing Czechia 2-1. No. 87 had been having a great tournament heading into the knockout stage, scoring two goals and four assists for six points. He was third on the team in scoring, trailing Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini, who have 11 and seven points, respectively. Crosby is currently tied for eighth in the tournament in scoring.

This isn’t the first time Canada has lost an on-ice leader in Milan. A little over a week ago, Canada’s women’s team lost Marie-Philip Poulin for over two games after suffering a lower-body injury, coincidentally against Czechia.

Wednesday’s quarterfinal battle marked the second meeting between Canada and Czechia in the men’s tournament. The Canadians made a statement with a 5-0 victory last Thursday, the team’s first game of Group A action.

Crosby has been a huge part in Canada’s success on the international stage for the past decade or so. Along with being the hero in the gold medal game in 2010 in Vancouver, he’s helped Canada win gold at the Winter Games twice, the 2015 IIHF Men’s World Championship, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.