The Penguins will be without star center and captain Sidney Crosby on Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, coach Mike Sullivan told the press Monday morning.
Crosby is dealing with a lower-body injury that is not expected to keep him out for an extended period of time.
“I don’t believe it is a long term thing. The hope with the break coming up is that he will have time to recover,” Sullivan said Monday.
It was first announced that Crosby was dealing with something when he missed Sunday’s practice and was labeled day-to-day.
This is the struggling team’s final game before the holiday break, so that should give Crosby a little extra time to heal without missing any games and give the team fewer games without many key players on the shelf.
The team is pretty banged up. Beau Bennett (upper body) has been out, as has Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion) and Kris Letang (undisclosed). They’re additionally without Pascal Dupuis, who will not play hockey again.
That’s not helping the team to get their first win under new head coach Mike Sullivan. They’re 0-4-0 since his arrival.