MILAN -- Sidney Crosby sustained a lower-body injury during the second period of Team Canada's 4-3 overtime win against Team Czechia in a quarterfinal game of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at Santagiulia Arena on Wednesday.
Canada coach Jon Cooper said he didn't have an update on Crosby’s status, but he said Canada’s captain was able to address the team during the second intermission.
"We didn't want this to be Sid's last game at this Olympics," Cooper said. "It was a big motivator for the guys coming out."
Crosby initially was hit by Radko Gudas at the red line between the benches at 4:55 of the second period. His legs appeared to split when Gudas toppled over him. Crosby appeared to be favoring his right leg as he got up a bit hobbled but stayed on the ice.
Thirteen seconds later, Crosby was hit by Martin Necas and Gudas along the boards near Canada's bench. He stayed upright and took two strides toward the middle of Canada's offensive zone before pulling up and circling to go to the bench.
He stayed on the bench for about a minute, sitting on the end of the bench while getting looked at by Team Canada medical staff, before leaving to go to the dressing room with 13:55 remaining in the period and Czechia leading 2-1.
"You just rarely see it, so for him something definitely went wrong," Cooper said. "He thought he wasn't in a position to help the team for the rest of the night and we'll evaluate after that."
Nathan MacKinnon scored a power-play goal to make it 2-2 at 12:16 of the second. Macklin Celebrini took Crosby's spot on Canada's first power-play unit and had an assist on MacKinnon's goal.
Canada tied the game 3-3 on a Nick Suzuki goal at 16:33 of the third period, and then Mitch Marner scored at 1:22 of overtime.
"It obviously [stinks]," Marner said. "Hopefully he's OK and doing better. We'll see how he's doing when we get back in there. Obviously he means a lot to this team. Not just on the ice but off the ice as well."
Crosby has six points (two goals, four assists) in four games.
Canada, the top-seeded team, will play Finland in the semifinals Friday.
"He's obviously a huge part of our team, a legend, and he wants nothing more than us to keep fighting and playing hard," goalie Jordan Binnington said. "We know that."
