NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The NHL All-Star Game has just lost a little bit of its star power.
Pittsburgh forward Sidney Crosby now is joining teammate Evgeni Malkin in missing the NHL All-Star Game because of injuries. Goaltenders Pekka Rinne of Nashville already was set to miss the game with a knee injury, and Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was replaced Thursday by St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford announced Thursday that Crosby will miss the game with a lower-body injury hours after Pittsburgh said Malkin would not play because of his own lower-body injury.
Crosby has played with the injury but needs a week to heal up. Missing the All-Star Game means Crosby will not be allowed to play Tuesday against Winnipeg. This was to be only the second All-Star Game in the past 10 years for Crosby, who now will miss his fifth straight. He played in the 2007 game in Dallas but missed the game in Atlanta, Montreal, Carolina, Ottawa and now Columbus.
Malkin was checked by trainers Tuesday in the second period against Philadelphia, returned and finished. But he couldn't play Wednesday against Chicago after testing himself during warmups. There is no timetable for his return.
The NHL announced Predators rookie Filip Forsberg addition Thursday to the All-Star Game. Forsberg already was headed to Columbus for the rookie portion of the weekend. He leads the Predators and all rookies with 40 points through 45 games. He also is plus-24, which is third overall in the NHL.
Forsberg joins Nashville captain Shea Weber and Predators coach Peter Laviolette in the All-Star Game.
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