Sidney Crosby left vs. Czechia, Team Canada’s update answers the big question

Sidney Crosby left Canada's quarterfinal game vs. Czechia after being hit by Radko Gudas at center ice:

Crosby was seen in pain on the bench before eventually making his way to the locker room as all of Canada held their breath.

Thanks to Elliotte Friedman, we now have an update regarding the status of Crosby as he will not be returning to the game as he deals with a lower-body injury:

According to Dr. Harjas Grawal on X, the concern for Crosby could be a potential MCL injury with his timeline longer than a day-to-day injury so if Canada advances, he is likely out the next game.

Crosby, the all-time scorer in Canadian Olympic history and their beloved captain, was a force this tournament even at 38 years old with six points in the preliminary round (2 goals, 4 assists) and leading the power-play alongside Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.

His absence seemed to spark the Canadians as they looked like they were playing with a lot more urgency once their captain went down, but going forward if he does miss time then it's a huge blow to Canada's gold medal hopes.

Should Canada advance past the Czechia side, they won't have an easy path to the Finals and the loss of Crosby makes that even more difficult. Thankfully they are so overpowered throughout the lineup they can withstand most flurries but you're still losing the heart and soul of the team.

We will likely get an update regarding Crosby's status either later on today (Wednesday) or tomorrow (Thursday) though his status for the tournament is still dependent on if Canada advances past Czechia.

For the Penguins, it's a huge blow to their playoff hopes and if Crosby is to miss a significant amount of time, it may make Kyle Dubas' job a whole lot harder heading into the trade deadline and beyond.

All we can hope for now is that Crosby's injury is nothing serious and he absence from the rest of the game is more of a precautionary measure as opposed to anything concerning.

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Brad Marchand sat out two Team Canada games, and we now know why