Crosby injury big for Penguins
Sidney Crosby made his way down the tunnel and out of sight. Any sense of security the Pittsburgh Penguins had in their firstround playoff series against the New York Rangers disappeared right along with their captain.
The superstar’s status for today night’s Game 6 is uncertain after Crosby absorbed a high but — in the eyes of the officials — legal hit from Jacob Trouba late in the second period of Game 5 on Wednesday night. He didn’t play the final 26 minutes and was nowhere near the bench as a two-goal lead turned into a 5-3 loss that sent the series back to Pittsburgh.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan offered scant details Thursday other than to say Crosby would continue to be evaluated. Sullivan declined to get into specifics about whether the three-time Stanley Cup champion was dealing with another concussion, saying only Crosby has an upperbody injury.
While Sullivan stressed his group has what it takes to win regardless of who is in the lineup, the reality is the Penguins are not the same when Crosby’s familiar No. 87 isn’t doing the little things — and the big ones too — that have made him a singular force for the better part of two decades.
“He’s not only a leader through his actions, but he’s a leader through his demeanor and how he carries himself,” Sullivan said of Crosby. “And he’s a voice of reason, you know, through an emotional, turbulent game.”
The Penguins now face the prospect of potentially navigating those choppy waters without him. Then again, they’re also playing at home, holding a 3-2 lead and looking to close out the series. VERHAEGHE KEY FOR COMEBACK CATS » Carter Verhaeghe has the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Panthers, who lead their series 3-2, on the verge of knocking out the Capitals. Verhaeghe scored twice, including the overtime winner, in Game 4 at Washington and set a franchise record with five points in Florida’s Game 5 comeback victory at home.
“Certainly he’s doing damage in this series,” Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said Thursday. “For me, he’s got a good release, he’s got good offensive instincts, he’s blending in with a team that has a lot of high power.”
FLAMES LOOKING TO KO STARS » A third-period rally at home in Game 5 moved the Flames to within one game from advancing to the Western Conference semifinals for just the second time since 2004.
“The bottom line is, we have a lot of guys that haven’t won a fourth game (of a series),” said Calgary coach Darryl Sutter, whose team is up 3-2. “That’s the next step in the process, (to) see if we are capable of doing that.”
Flames forward Blake Coleman is wary. The Stars are just two years removed from a trip to the Stanley Cup Final, a run that started with a first-round victory over Calgary.
“If there’s something I’ve learned over the last few years, it’s that closing a team out is the hardest part of the series and winning that fourth game is the hardest game you’ve got to win,” Coleman said. “The job is certainly not done. They’re a proud group and you’ve got to put them in a position where they don’t want it anymore.”