Sidney Crosby leaves game hurt and Canada’s Olympic hopes hang in balance

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Daniel Lucente
February 18, 2026 (11:54)

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Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Sidney Crosby left the Team Canada bench for the locker room, and every Canadian hockey fan felt their stomach drop.

This is the nightmare moment in a short tournament, where one weird twist can erase two weeks of dominance.

Multiple reports on Wednesday said Crosby was injured and went down the tunnel.

If he’s done, everything changes for the rest of Milano Cortina 2026.

Canada has looked like the top seed for a reason.

Crosby has driven the pace, won the hard pucks, and kept the power play calm under pressure.

Here are the posts that kicked the worry into overdrive:

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What makes it sting is the timing, because it happened during Canada’s quarterfinal.

Crosby just set an Olympic points mark for Canada in NHL-era tournaments, then the bracket turned into single-elimination stress.

This feels like the entire country holding its breath between whistles.

If Crosby can’t go, Jon Cooper has to rebuild his matchup plan on the fly.

You can still ice Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, but the structure shifts without Crosby taking the heavy defensive starts.

The man advantage gets trickier too, because he’s been the release valve when plays die at the half wall.

Canada already saw how fast injuries can hit at these Games, with Josh Morrissey leaving a game for the dressing room and not returning.

Now it’s about the next shift, the next update, and whether the captain can come back out of that room.

Previously on HockeyUnplugged

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FEVRIER 18\|403 ANSWERS Sidney Crosby leaves game hurt and Canada’s Olympic hopes hang in balance Should Team Canada sit Sidney Crosby if he’s not 100%?
Yes	342	84.9 %
No	61	15.1 %
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