Penguins Hit Hard as Sidney Crosby Injury Changes Everything

Crosby, 38, is not just the Penguins captain. He is an $8.7 million cap hit through 2026-27 with a full no-movement clause, which means this story is about lineup stress, not easy roster math.

Muse said only that it was lower body and that he still needed more from the medical staff. That uncertainty matters because Crosby had already missed 11 games after his Olympic injury.

Crosby leads Pittsburgh with 64 points in 61 games, and he left Ottawa after just 6:39 of ice time in a 4-3 shootout win.

That flips this from bad injury luck into a bench-management problem for Saturday's home game against Dallas at 5:00 PM ET.

Pittsburgh is 36-20-16 and moved into second in the Metropolitan Division, so these are not empty March minutes. They are seeding minutes, matchup minutes, and special-teams minutes.

Evgeni Malkin already missed the Ottawa game with an upper-body issue. That leaves Muse staring at a middle-six shuffle when the one player who settles the whole bench is Crosby.

Without Crosby, Pittsburgh loses its cleanest first touch through the middle, its safest offensive-zone faceoff option, and a major piece of the first power-play look.

It also puts more pressure on Kyle Dubas, not for a splash move now, but for depth insulation around a roster that has leaned hard on veteran centers all season.

If Crosby is out again, the Penguins are not replacing a name. They are replacing the player who still dictates the pace of their whole top six.