Canadian captain Sidney Crosby was injured during the second period of Wednesday's quarter-final game against Czechia when he was hit by Radko Gudas (right). Crosby sat out the third period and overtime in his team's win.ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
After they white-knuckled their way through an overtime win against Czechia in the quarter-final, players for the Canadian men’s hockey team expressed mixed emotions in the mixed zone, the reporter-lined corridor players must pass through after leaving the ice on the way to their dressing rooms.
On one hand, there was a sense of relief that they’d escaped a near-catastrophic early exit at this Olympic hockey tournament. On the other, there was concern over the health of team captain Sidney Crosby, who left the game after taking a check from Radko Gudas early in the second period. He didn’t return.
Canada head coach Jon Cooper didn’t share the nature or extent of the injury, but said Crosby gave the rest of the team a little pep talk during the second intermission.
“He couldn’t come out for the third but he did address the players,” Cooper said. “We didn’t want this to be Sid’s last game at this Olympics. So it was a big motivator for the guys coming out.”
At 38, this will likely be Crosby’s final Olympics.
Crosby took a hit from Gudas, the big Czech defender, five minutes into the second period after receiving a pass in the neutral zone and dumping the puck into the offensive zone. Later on the same shift he collided with Gudas again along the boards before heading to the bench in discomfort. He then left the bench and limped to the locker room.
He logged just shy of six minutes of ice time before leaving the game.
His teammates were mum on the injury after the game, but were clearly concerned.
“Sid’s our leader,” defencemen Thomas Harley said.
Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper said that Crosby addressed his teammates during the second intermission on Wednesday.Marton Monus/Reuters
“I don’t know how he’s doing,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “It sucks.”
Losing Crosby, who owns the all-time record for points by a Canadian NHL player the Olympics Games (16), would be a huge blow to Canada’s chances in the semi-final. Even at 38, he’s still one of the most productive players in the NHL.
Crosby was the hero at the 2010 Olympics when he scored the golden goal in overtime to give Canada the gold medal against the United States. He won gold again with Canada in 2014 at the Sochi Games.
Many of Crosby's Canadian teammates were kids when he scored the golden goal
“He’s a huge part of our team and he wants nothing more than for us to keep fighting and playing hard,” said defencemen Cale Makar.
Crosby is the second Canadian captain to go down with an injury at this tournament. Marie-Philip Poulin, the heartbeat of the women’s national team, suffered a knee injury earlier in the tournament and missed two games before returning in the quarter-final.
Follow our live daily coverage of the Winter Games.