Penguins’ Crosby to return after 11-game absence
The Kid is back.
When skating off the ice from morning skate, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin glowingly reported that captain Sidney Crosby would be back in the lineup on Wednesday night when the team takes on the Carolina Hurricanes.
Malkin joyfully walking off the ice just now to all of us media. “Guys he’s back. Crosby back!”
Crosby has been out of action since suffering a knee injury during Canada’s quarterfinal game against Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics. According to Canadian teammate Mitch Marner, Crosby suffered an MCL sprain when he was hit by Czech defenseman Radko Gudas. The injury led to No. 87 missing the team’s final two games of the tournament, which saw Canada fall to the United States in the gold medal game.
Despite allegedly coming close to playing in the final, Crosby has missed the Penguins’ first 11 games coming out of the Olympic break while recovering, with the team placing the 38-year-old on injured reserve. In his absence, Pittsburgh has managed to stay in the top three in the Metropolitan Division, going 5-3-3 over that span, picking up big wins over the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche over the past few days.
Crosby had appeared in all 56 of the Penguins’ games leading up to the break. He still leads the team in goals (27) and points (59), six points clear of Bryan Rust.
The Cole Harbour, N.S. native will certainly provide a jump to a team that has had a surprising turnaround this season. With the likes of Malkin and Crosby producing at a high level, the Pens have gone from a relative afterthought to a team that could have home-ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Penguins (34-18-15) come into Wednesday night second in the Metro, seven points back of the Hurricanes for first place.