CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Somewhere amid the general manager receiving a three-year contract extension and the trade of a popular player was what otherwise would have been the biggest headline: Sidney Crosby didn't take the ice for practice Wednesday at the Lemieux Sports Complex.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, it was not for routine maintenance.
According to Mike Sullivan, Crosby was being evaluated for an upper-body injury. When asked if Crosby would be available for Thursday night's home game against the NHL-leading Lightning, Sullivan only restated the captain's injury.
It was not immediately clear how or when Crosby was injured in Tuesday night's loss to the Devils in Newark. Presumably, it occurred when he slammed to the boards with his left shoulder after driving to the net on Jake Guentzel's goal at 4:04 of the third period:
Despite that, Crosby remained in the game, logged 21:32 of ice time and participated in the late attempts to tie with the goaltender pulled.
During practice, assistant coach Mark Recchi centered Crosby's line between Dominik Simon and Bryan Rust.
Crosby has eight goals and 11 assists in 19 games this season to rank 30th in the NHL. Last season, he appeared in all 82 games for the first time in his career.
More will be known of Crosby's status at Thursday's morning skate. That begins at 10:30.