Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will play for Canada in 4 Nations Face-Off tournament

Matt Vensel, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb 10, 2025

Published in Hockey

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby says he's good to go for the start of the 4 Nations Face-Off this week.

Crosby, who missed two Penguins games this weekend with an upper-body injury, practiced with Team Canada in Montreal on Monday. Afterward, he told reporters that he planned to play in Wednesday's tournament opener against Sweden.

Canada's captain, Crosby is expected to play on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mark Stone in that game. He also was on the top power play at Monday's practice.

His status for the 4 Nations Face-Off was still uncertain as of a couple of days ago, when Crosby missed his second straight game, a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. But Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who will lead the American team at the tournament, was encouraged by the progress Crosby had made in practice settings.

The Penguins gave Crosby the green light to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off if he felt ready to return to game action, and on Monday, he declared he was going to play.

Crosby was injured in the third period of Tuesday's loss to the New Jersey Devils. He collided, somewhat awkwardly, with Luke Hughes and then Erik Haula. He then slowly skated off the ice, wincing in pain, and disappeared down the tunnel. After missing about eight minutes of game action, he returned and finished the game.

Two days later, Crosby looked to be limited by an injury to his left arm or shoulder as he got in an individual workout at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. And when he missed Friday's game in New York, there was increased concern in Canada that he would miss the tournament, which is a dress rehearsal of sorts for the 2026 Olympics.

Canada could breathe a sigh of relief Monday. The Penguins, however, may watch Crosby anxiously throughout the tournament, fearing he aggravates his injury.

Pittsburgh's next game will be Feb. 22 against Washington. With 25 games left, the Penguins must leapfrog six teams to make the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

____