Sidney Crosby injured in 4-1 loss to Coyotes

by FrankD on Oct 31, 2008 6:54 AM EDT in Game Recaps

Residential Coyotes fan OdinMercer provided a solid recap for last night's game directly below this post. Check it out, and thank him in advance for being humble in our moment of disarray. If you're looking for additional Coyotes coverage then shoot over to Coyotes Hip Check blog.

What a road trip this is turning out to be, huh? Starting with the Rangers game on Saturday, the Penguins have now dropped three straight, salvaging only a single point from the shootout loss in New York.

But that's not the real issue here. In fact, there are many. For starters, Sidney Crosby left last night's game against the Coyotes in the third period with what is being called *surprise* an undisclosed injury. Phoenix reports say it's his ribs, Pittsburgh reports deny it. Chances are it is and they're just looking to protect their star. Can't blame them there.

Read on for more, plus [horrid] video highlights from last night.

I don't know how I feel about Jordan Staal's comments in today's Trib-Review:

"It seems like our guys aren't really buying into our system and working hard, basically. It's really frustrating for everyone."

Jordan Staal
Trib-Review

It would seem he still has a while to go before he gets a genuine leadership role. That to me sounds like the wrong thing to say, but I'm willing to dismiss it as the misrepresentation of his own frustration.

Let us not forget this whole shot thing. How Nabokov on Tuesday and Bryzgalov last night didn't grab a shutout each is beyond me. The Penguins weren't necessarily the purveyors of a swarming offense in the first. In fact, they barely passed the grade with only two first period shots. In the second they followed that up with 18, with Satan slipping one past Ilya Bryzgalov with the man advantage. The fact it took nearly 20 shots to just score that first goal is somewhat disappointing.

From there the Penguins mustered up only eight scoreless shots in the third.

Is this how it's going to be all season? Probably not. They will click, they will jell and things will improve. But "soon" cannot come soon enough.

Look for the Pens to potentially call up someone for the St. Louis game tomorrow night. I don't think Crosby will have a spot in the lineup, although he is listed as day-to-day at the time of this post. That more or less puts Hal Gill, Max Talbot, Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis on the injured-kinda-sorta list of guys out of the lineup. Tag on Gonchar and Whitney and you have yourself one hell of an attack with the extra skater.

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It seems like there have been more and more undisclosed injuries this season. Is there a particular reason for this or did I just notice it the last few years?

Let's go Pens!

by JDunman on Oct 31, 2008 7:46 AM EDT reply actions

Well the NHL actually came to agreement this season that teams don’t have to disclose injuries. I’m all for it actually, because I think it protects the players more. If you give the other team even the slightest hint at an injury, especially to a guy like Crosby, they’re going to go for the injured spot in hopes of keeping him down. Let’s just hope it’s really not he ribs, because even with the slight hint Phoenix may have given, that’s enough to send St. Louis a message to scrum with elbows down in the corners and give a few stick taps to the side when Sid enters the zone.

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by FrankD on Oct 31, 2008 7:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Perhaps I’m in the minority here, but I think it’s sick to purposely try to seriously injure a player – I don’t care how good he is. Hits and fights are one thing, that’s another.

Let's go Pens!

by JDunman on Oct 31, 2008 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Nah you’re not alone. After all, it was revealed that Bertuzzi’s hit on Steve Moore was one of those “go get him” sort of things. Of course one can argue if a punch to the back of the head was what the coach had in mind, but that’s really neither here nor there.

Enforcers and agitators are paid to throw the other team off their game. If picking at a player’s injury helps, I’d imagine it won’t stop them in the name of job security.

Remember that commercial, “Hockey fans aren’t like other fans”? Well, I guess the same can be said about hockey players not being like other athletes.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Oct 31, 2008 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions

The Pittsburgh TV announcers said Crosby was limping to the locker room, so it may be that ankle again.

As far as the injuries go, I believe that all sports will eventually go to the undisclosed injury announcements. The reason the Players Association won that argument was because it is illegal in the US to disclose someone’s health information without permission.

by PensFan024 on Oct 31, 2008 8:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Jeez, six to eight weeks without Sid is the last thing this team needs right now. Let’s hope for a minor sprain at the least, preferably nothing at all if possible.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Oct 31, 2008 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions

And that’s a good call.

I hope it’s not the ankle. I REALLY hope it’s not the ankle.

Let's go Pens!

by JDunman on Oct 31, 2008 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions

Just because he was limping doesn’t mean it’s the ankle. I didn’t see it so I don’t know how bad he was limping, but a rib injury could also cause that. Speaking from experience, if you get hit in the ribs, when walking, whichever side got hit hurts like a mother when you try walking. He may have simply shifted the weight to the other side, but again, not really sure since I didn’t see any video of it.

by Travis Hair on Oct 31, 2008 6:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, any of those upper body injuries can really cause a limp. I bruised a few ribs once before and you hardly want to move, let alone walk down a hallway on skates. Either way everyone can agree it had to be serious. Crosby wouldn’t just leave the ice in a 2-1 game if he was sore.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Nov 1, 2008 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions