USA vs. Canada men's hockey: Sidney Crosby out of Winter Olympics gold-medal game due to injury

Jay Busbee Sun, February 22, 2026 at 12:31 PM UTC

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Sidney Crosby leaves the ice with an apparent injury during Canada's quarterfinal win over Czechia. (Photo by EyesWideOpen/Getty Images) (EyesWideOpen via Getty Images)

MILAN — Sidney Crosby has been ruled out of Canada’s Olympic gold-medal game against the United States. The news came about an hour before the start of the game.

Crosby, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, suffered a lower-body injury during Canada’s quarterfinal victory over Czechia. His status for Sunday’s game had been in doubt right up until the official announcement.

In the game against Czechia, Crosby was hit along the boards in the second period by Czechia's Martin Nečas and Radko Gudas, the third major hit he’d taken that period. He exited the ice soon afterward, limped toward the locker room, and was soon ruled out of that game.

Canada head coach Jon Cooper said on Friday that he believed Crosby had a chance to play in the gold-medal game, but clearly the 38-year-old Canadian captain did not recover in time to be in Canada’s active lineup.

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“He’s Sidney Crosby,” Connor McDavid said after Crosby’s injury. “He’s going to have a big influence no matter what. In the lineup, not in the lineup, he’s going to have a big influence. That’s what he does.”

Crosby, the oldest player on Canada’s roster, has played in three Olympic Games for Canada, and has won two golds, in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014. Crosby scored Canada’s golden overtime goal in 2010 that sent Canada past the United States. He skated in practice on both Friday and Saturday but made no public statements, as both practices were closed to media.

McDavid will again be the playing captain for Team Canada, as he has been since Crosby’s injury.

Crosby has scored two goals and four assists while in Milan, and holds the Canadian NHL-era Olympic record with 16 total points.

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Source: “AOL Sports”