Sidney Crosby and several other Pittsburgh Penguins regulars will miss Saturday's installment of a highly touted home-and-home with the Washington Capitals due to injury.
Crosby is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, Ben Kindel, and Parker Wotherspoon will also sit out Saturday due to various day-to-day ailments.
Saturday's game is in Pittsburgh, and Sunday's clash is in Washington.
This means Sunday's rematch could be the last time Crosby will face longtime rival Alex Ovechkin, who's a free agent at the end of the season. Ovechkin said he will decide on his NHL future in the summer.
"It's been on my mind quite a bit," Crosby told The Athletic's Josh Yohe in the lead-up to the weekend series. "I've been thinking about him a lot because I know it's something that has got to be on his mind constantly right now. When you get to a certain age, it's the way it is. Every player is going to have to deal with it at some point."
Crosby sustained a lower-body injury in February at the Olympics. He missed two games in Milan and 11 NHL contests before returning March 18. Crosby missed another game later in March, also with a lower-body injury.
The Penguins clinched a playoff spot Thursday. Pittsburgh had missed the postseason for three straight campaigns.
