Sidney Crosby ruled out of gold medal hockey game against USA

CITYnews halifax / By John Marchesan

Canadian captain Sidney Crosby will not be in the lineup for the much-anticipated gold medal showdown against the United States this morning.

Connor McDavid will wear the captain’s ‘C’ for the second straight game.

Crosby skated with the team at practice on Saturday, but coach Jon Cooper said he would be a game-time decision.

Crosby suffered a lower-body injury in Canada’s quarterfinal against Czechia on Wednesday and missed the semifinal game against Finland.

He hobbled off the ice in the second period after he was crunched along the boards in the neutral zone by Czech defenceman Radko Gudas at centre ice and took another awkward hit along the boards later in the same shift.

The 38-year-old has two goals and four assists in four games in this tournament — his third Olympic Games.

Defenceman Josh Morrissey has also been ruled out for the showdown as he continues to deal with an injury suffered earlier in the tournament.

Morrissey suffered his injury in the opening preliminary game against Czechia and has missed every game since, despite not being initially ruled out for the tournament.