Sidney Crosby injury Rangers Jacob Trouba hit
(Screenshot/ AT&T Sportsnet)

You absolutely hate to see this.

Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby left Wednesday’s Game 5 against the New York Rangers with an apparent upper-body injury. Crosby suffered the injury late in the second period and didn’t return for the start of the third period.

It’s unclear what exactly Crosby’s injury is, but the captain took a nasty elbow from Rangers’ blueliner Jacob Trouba. Crosby was going to catch a puck with his hand before Trouba caught him up high. The Pens’ star didn’t appear to be expecting the hit.

There was no penalty assessed to Trouba on the play. Crosby slowly made his way off the ice before heading down the tunnel to the locker room. He wasn’t on the bench for the start of the third period.

Pittsburgh broadcast AT&T Sportsnet showed a good clip of the Crosby injury:

Crosby’s absence had an immediate impact on the game, as the Rangers scored three unanswered goals to take the lead. New York clearly smelled blood in the water and knew their chances of winning improve significantly with no Crosby playing.

New York went on to win the game by a 5-3 score, sending the series back to Pittsburgh with the Pens up 3-2. The Penguins didn’t have a Crosby injury update following the game. Coach Mike Sullivan said post-game Crosby is “being evaluated”.

Crosby has a history with concussions, so hopefully this isn’t anything serious. A sports doctor assessed that Crosby likely entered concussion protocol and the team will label him as day-to-day.

Crosby has turned back the clock so far in the 2022 NHL Playoffs, recording four goals and seven assists in Round 1. Hockey fans have been getting excited about another potential chapter of Crosby vs Ovechkin in the postseason.

Game 6 of the Rangers vs Penguins series is set to be played Friday, May 13th at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins may be without their superstar captain as they aim to send the Rangers to the golf course.