Sidney Crosby’s injury has dealt a major blow to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff hopes. The team announced Wednesday that their superstar captain will miss at least four weeks with a lower-body injury he picked up while playing for Canada at the Olympics on February 18.
But don’t tell the Penguins they’re done.
“There’s an F-U attitude at the moment,” veteran winger Bryan Rust said bluntly. “We know what the expectations were outside of this room entering the season, but we also know what the expectations were in this room.”
The timing couldn’t be worse for Pittsburgh. They’re staring down a brutal stretch of 19 games in just 34 days, starting with Thursday’s home game against the New Jersey Devils.
It’s been quite a journey for a team many wrote off before the season even started. Some experts thought the Penguins were rebuilding – or even “tanking” – with trade rumors swirling around Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Instead, they’ve been one of the NHL’s best surprises. The Pens hit the Olympic break at 29-15-12, holding the second playoff spot in their division.
Crosby’s been absolutely crucial to that success. The 38-year-old leads the team with 27 goals and 59 points this season.
“You don’t replace Sid, obviously,” center Noel Acciari said. “But think about how many times he’s bailed us out this season. I think we owe it to him to play our best hockey and be in a good position when he comes back.”
The “at least” four weeks timeline is worrying – it suggests Crosby might not be 100% even when he does return in late March.
But Rust isn’t having any of the doom and gloom.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we can keep playing like we have been, that we can keep winning,” he said. “Listen, I know people are going to doubt us. They can doubt us all they want. That’s fine. We intend on proving them wrong.”
That confidence has been there from day one, according to Rust. “There was a confidence in this room, a confidence when we were 0-0 before the season even started.”
Now they’ll need every bit of that belief to keep their playoff hopes alive without their captain.
