PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby says he felt he was "close" to playing in the men's hockey gold-medal game at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The injury he sustained in the Olympic tournament quarterfinals, however, will keep the Pittsburgh Penguins captain sidelined at least a month.
The Penguins placed Crosby on injured reserve Wednesday with a lower-body injury.
Crosby, Canada's captain at the Olympics, was injured in the quarterfinals when his leg bent awkwardly on a hit from Czechia defenceman Radko Gudas.
The 38-year-old hoped to recover in time to play the Americans for gold, but was forced to watch as the United States won 2-1 in overtime to close out the Games.
"Close. A lot closer than I thought a day or two after," Crosby told reporters Wednesday of playing in the Olympic final. "I didn't think it was necessarily going to be an option, so the fact that I even had a chance, or was close to it ... the (medical staff) there was unbelievable."
"Unfortunately, it wasn't something I could do," he added.
He watched the final from the trainer’s room before joining teammates for the medal ceremony.
"I don't have a problem with the play," he said of the Gudas hit. "I think he was trying to be physical and step up and play hard as any defenceman would.
"(It) went the wrong way on my end of it."
The Penguins also activated defenceman Kris Letang from injured reserve on Wednesday.
The injury comes with the surprising Penguins in second place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh is looking to return to the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Crosby has been his usual productive self this season. He leads the Penguins in goals (27), assists (32) and points (59) and is on pace to extend his NHL record of averaging at least a point a game to 21 years and counting.
“Obviously, I want to be back out there as soon as possible,” he said. "Just have to figure out what that looks like and how that’s going to be and be at my best when I come back.”
Pittsburgh opens the post-Olympic break at home against New Jersey on Thursday. The matchup with the Devils is the first of 13 games in 24 days for the Penguins.
“All year we’ve had injuries (and) guys have stepped up,” he said. “To get to where we’re at at this point, it’s because of our team play.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25,2026.
With files from The Associated Press
The Canadian Press
