As Team Canada prepares to take on Finland in the semifinals of the Olympics, all eyes have been on their captain, Sidney Crosby. Crosby was injured in the 4-3 overtime victory against Czechia on Wednesday, and after the contest, little was known of the status of the Canadian star.
Now, Team Canada coach Jon Cooper provided a hopeful update after Canada's optional practice on Thursday, per hockey insider Frank Seravalli.
Crosby is “by no means ruled out of the tournament,” Cooper told the media. “We’re taking this day-by-day.”
The captain was injured in the second period of the game with Czechia on a hit from Radko Gudas. His right knee folded under him as he was hit along the boards, leading to Crosby heading to the bench and then down the tunnel. The team was down 2-1 at the time, but rallied to force overtime, where Canada won the game on a Mitch Marner goal. After the contest, Cooper was trepid regarding the injury to Crosby, according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN.
“You just rarely see it, and so for him, something definitely went wrong,” coach Jon Cooper told reporters. “But he just thought he wasn't in a position to help the team for the rest of the night. And we'll reevaluate after that.”
Crosby is getting imaging done on his knee, but the results have yet to be released. Still, he will have two more chances to play in the Olympics. Canada faces Finland in the semifinals on Friday. With a win, they will play in the gold medal game on Sunday. If they fall to the Finns, Canada will play in the bronze medal game on Saturday.
While an official status for Crosby has not been given, if he does miss a game, someone else will need to wear the captain's “C” on their jersey, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN. International rules stipulate that someone on the ice must wear the “C,” but Cooper would not speculate on who would get the honor, as he was not ready to rule his current captain out of the lineup.
Canada entered the Games as the favorite to take gold, but has a difficult matchup ahead with the Finns. The last time these two countries met at the Olympics was in 2018, when Canada took a 1-0 victory over Finland in the quarterfinals, but that was without NHL players. Now, the team hopes for the same result with NHL players, and hopefully with Crosby on the ice.
