Matt Niskanen ejected for crosscheck to head of Sidney Crosby
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins' challenge to repeat as NHL champions became more difficult when they lost captain Sidney Crosby to an undisclosed injury Monday in a game against the Washington Capitals.
He was knocked out of the game at 5:24 of the first period and didn't play the remainder of the game.
Crosby had to be assisted off the ice after being knocked to the ice and crosschecked to the face. Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen received a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for his part.
Crosby's trouble started on his third shift of the game, when he was skating toward the Washington net, and was clipped by Alex Ovechkin's stick. His leg appeared to be in an awkward position when he was going down. Niskanen, once Crosby's teammate in Pittsburgh, caught Crosby as he was going to the ice.
The Penguins didn't score on their power play opportunity. They fell behind 1-0 at 13:05 of the first period when Nicklas Backstrom scored a 5-on-3 power play goal.
Crosby has faced concussion issues in the past, missing large portions of the 2011 and 2012 seasons because of them.
Less than three minutes into the second period, Pittsburgh winger Conor Sheary left the game bleeding from the face after being inadvertently run into by his teammate Patric Hornqvist.
The Capitals survived the Penguins' late push for a 3-2 overtime victory, cutting their series deficit to 2-1.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not have an update on the injured players after the game, saying they would be "evaluated overnight."