The Pittsburgh Penguins survived a 4-3 shootout battle with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, however the highlight, or lowlight, was captain Sidney Crosby leaving the sport with an apparent injury.
Completing all his first-period shifts, Crosby went to the dressing room with lower than three minutes remaining. He returned for a single shift within the second period before exiting for the rest of the sport. He finished the sport with 6:39 of ice time, one shot, and a +1 rating.
While the Penguins didn’t provide details on the injury, a collision with Senators forward Nick Cousins along the boards seems to have caused it.
This hit from Nick Cousins along the boards is the suspected reason for Sid’s departure https://t.co/xDUIbKPK3x pic.twitter.com/i1gQrVZXpK
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 27, 2026
The 38-year-old center was playing his fifth game since coming back from a lower-body injury sustained through the February Olympics, where he suffered a torn MCL that kept him out for 11 games. Coming into the sport, he was on a four-game point streak, with one goal and 4 assists.
Despite Crosby’s absence, Pittsburgh ended a two-game losing streak. Rickard Rakell led the offense with two goals and one assist. Erik Karlsson scored a goal and provided two assists. Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 26 saves through regulation and time beyond regulation and stopped two of three shootout attempts.
Drake Batherson led the best way for Ottawa, scoring twice in regulation and once within the shootout to hit a career-high 29 goals this season. Tim Stutzle racked up two assists, reaching 400 profession points. Linus Ullmark made 34 saves, but stopped just considered one of three shootout attempts.
The Penguins outshot the Senators 38-29 and overcame a 3-3 tie after regulation. Rookie Ben Kindel, who replaced Crosby within the lineup, scored the game-winning shootout goal.
Up next, Pittsburgh will host the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins survived a 4-3 shootout battle with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, however the highlight, or lowlight, was captain Sidney Crosby leaving the sport with an apparent injury. Completing all his first-period shifts, Crosby went to the dressing room with lower than three minutes remaining.