Inside Scoop: Penguins at the Winter Olympics

TEAM USA IS GOLDEN!

Jack Hughes won the game in overtime for Team USA, 2-1!

CROSBY OUT FOR GOLD MEDAL GAME

CROSBY A GAME-TIME DECISION FOR GOLD MEDAL GAME

When it comes to Sidney Crosby's status for Sunday's Gold Medal Game against the United States (scheduled for 8:10 AM on NBC and Peacock), "We'll see," Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said, per NHL.com. "I watched him skate today. I haven't spoken to him yet. We're going to meet tonight and have a determination of what's going to happen tomorrow.

“He won't put himself in harm's way. He's not going to put the team in harm's way. Obviously, we'd love to have him, but that determination will be made tonight."

CROSBY DOES NOT PLAY IN SEMIFINALS, CANADA ADVANCES

Hockey Canada announced that Sidney Crosby would not play in their semifinal matchup with Finland on Friday (Feb. 20) after suffering a lower-body injury in Wednesday's win over Czechia.

"It’s tough when you lose a guy like that," Brad Marchand said after that contest. "Obviously, one of the best ever to play the game. Such a big character on the bench and in the room. Big presence in big moments. But you don’t have a choice, you’ve got to keep going."

The Penguins practiced earlier than usual, skating at 10 AM and getting off the ice in time to see most of the game, as puck drop was scheduled for 10:40 AM. I was in the middle of interviewing Ben Kindel when Finland opened the scoring, which brought it to a halt for a few seconds as he reacted to the play.

A few stalls down, Parker Wotherspoon was also cheering for Canada. He was 12 years old when he watched Crosby score the Golden Goal in his hometown of Vancouver back in 2010. He went to Canada's game against the United States in Boston during the 4 Nations Face-Off, the first time in years that Wotherspoon had gotten to see a game as a fan. Before the Olympic break, Wotherspoon said he would definitely be watching these games.

Asked about Canada being without Crosby for this game, Wotherspoon said, "yeah, he's Canadian royalty, so you don't like to see him going down. We’re thinking about him back here. Knowing Sid, though, he can go through anything. So, hopefully it's not too bad, and hopefully they can win today and play for gold."

Crosby's fellow Cole Harbour native Nathan MacKinnon, his good friend and offseason training partner, made sure of that.

Finland had actually built a 2-0 lead early in the second period, before Sam Reinhart got Canada on the board. Like Wotherspoon, Reinhart is also from Vancouver, and playing with Crosby has been a dream come true.

"It’s incredible. It's not just the things on the ice, it's everything that goes with it off the ice that you see," Reinhart told us earlier this year. "He’s such a good person, he’s such a good leader. He's so humble, yet he knows the presence he has, so that's a special thing. He doesn't act anything bigger than you'd expect. He’s as humble as it comes. He's inclusive, he's a leader, and he just loves being around the game. And I think that shows."

Around the midway point of the third period, Shea Theodore tied it up. Then, late in regulation, MacKinnon drew a high-sticking call and Canada went to the power play. He found the back of the net with 36 seconds left to give Canada a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish.

"We have 25 leaders, but we're missing the leader of all, though," MacKinnon told NBC's Kathryn Tappen with a wry laugh. "It sucks. You can't replace Sidney Crosby as a person, player. He's still around. He's still our captain. ... We have a lot of veteran players in there who have been in big moments, so we were confident."

Team Canada Head Coach Jon Cooper told media in Italy that they had 48 hours to determine Crosby's status for Sunday's Gold Medal Game against Team USA, and he has a better chance of playing in that game than he did of playing today.

CROSBY "NOT RULED OUT" FOR REMAINDER OF OLYMPICS

On Thursday, Team Canada Head Coach Jon Cooper provided an update on Captain Sidney Crosby, who left Wednesday's quarterfinal matchup against Czechia with what appeared to be a lower-body injury.

"Sid is by no means ruled out of the tournament," Cooper said, per NHL.com. "We've got the best of the best looking at him. … We're taking this day by day. We're not going to put anyone in harm's way, but if he can play, he's definitely going to. We'll know more again in 24 hours.

"Everything is going down as we speak. Kind of a late game yesterday. We have time."

Canada plays Finland on Friday at 10:40 AM (which will air on Peacock and USA). The winner advances to the gold medal game on Sunday at 8:10 AM, while the loser will play for the bronze medal on Saturday at 2:40 PM.

CROSBY LEAVES QUARTERFINALS WITH INJURY

Sidney Crosby left just over six minutes into the second period of Canada’s quarterfinal matchup against Czechia on Wednesday (Feb. 18) with what appeared to be a lower-body injury, and did not return.

Czechia had been playing Crosby hard, and he was the recipient of three hits in a short period of time. First, Ondrej Palat sent Crosby into the boards by the benches after catching him between the circle and the blue line. On the next shift, Radko Gudas stood Crosby up at the red line. He then skated somewhat gingerly into Canada’s defensive zone, where Gudkas and Martin Necas sandwiched Crosby. Crosby slowly made his way to the bench, and remained there for a short while talking to a trainer.

Crosby then went to the locker room, and Hockey Canada announced that the captain would be out for the remainder of the contest. They eked out a 4-3 overtime victory over Czechia. Crosby's Olympic linemate Mitch Marner got the winner.

As the Penguins finished practice, the situation was unfolding in real time, so Head Coach Dan Muse had no information. "First I heard of anything was when I was walking down the hallway here," he said. "So, yeah - I mean, I think you're always keeping tabs on everything. But we'll see where things are at."

Canada Head Coach Jon Cooper also had no update following the game.

"I haven’t been back there yet, but he couldn't come out for the third," Cooper said, per NHL.com. "But he did address the players. I think that was a big thing coming in, we lose this game, we didn't want this to be Sid's last game at this Olympics. It was a big motivator for the guys coming out.

"You just rarely see it, so for him something definitely went wrong. He thought he wasn't in a position to help the team for the rest of the night and we'll evaluate after that."

Team Canada is expected to give an update on Thursday. For what it's worth, Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas is in Italy as Team Canada's Director of Player Personnel.

SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS

Friday, February 19

Canada vs. Finland, 10:40 AM (USA, Peacock)

United States vs. Slovakia, 3:10 PM (NBC, Peacock)

TEAM USA ELIMINATES SWEDEN

Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell are heading home and will not play for a medal after a 2-1 overtime loss to the United States on Wednesday (Feb. 18).

It was a tight game, with the Americans taking a 1-0 lead in the second period. Jack and Quinn Hughes registered the assists. Mika Zibanejad then scored with just 1:31 left to play in regulation. Quinn Hughes got the winner 3:27 into the 10-minute 3-on-3 extra period.

Karlsson picked up four assists in five games during his second Olympics after being named the tournament’s Best Defenseman in 2014. Karlsson has recorded 12 points (4G-8A) in 10 career games across both of his Olympics, tying him with Shea Weber (5-7—12 in 13 GP) for the fifth most career points by a blueliner in Olympics with NHL players, per NHL PR.

The only blueliners with more are Marek Zidlicky (6G-8A-14PTS in 17 games played), Nicklas Lidstrom (4G-10A-14PTS in 20 games played), Brian Rafalski (5G-8A-13PTS in 17 games played and Kimmo Timonen (3G-10A-13PTS in 30 games played).

This marked Rakell’s first-ever Olympics. He recorded a helper in his debut.

While the Penguins do not have any players on Team USA, they do have a staffer. Video coach Madison Nikkel is serving in that same role for the United States. Before the break, head coach Dan Muse said there wasn’t enough time to properly explain what an amazing job Nikkel does for the Penguins, and how great he’s been.

“I know for me personally, too, coming in here in my first year as head coach in this organization, from day one, just the support he's provided, like, he's so good at his job,” Muse said. “It's such a hard job, too. There's so many hours. People have no idea, for a video coach in this league, what actually goes into it. I mean, these are some of the hardest-working people in the world, and he's right at the top of that list in terms of the work that he puts in. Everything he does has so much purpose to it. He cares so much about this organization, every player, every staff member.

“I couldn't be more excited for him. Nobody more deserving, too, to be able to get that opportunity to be able to represent USA in the Olympics. I'm just so happy for him and excited for him.”

QUARTERFINAL MATCHUPS

Wednesday, February 18

Canada vs. Czechia, 10:40 AM (USA, Peacock)

Sweden vs. United States, 3:10 PM (NBC, Peacock)

The semifinals will take place on Friday.

SWEDEN BEATS LATVIA TO ADVANCE

Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell are advancing to the Quarterfinals.

Sweden defeated Latvia, 5-1, on Tuesday (Feb. 17). Karlsson registered an assist with a beautiful setup on Filip Forsberg’s goal in the second period. It was Karlsson’s fourth helper of the tournament, boosting his career totals to 12 points in 10 career Olympic outings.

He now sits two points back of tying Nicklas Lidstrom (4G-10A-14PTS in 20 games played) for the most career points by a Team Sweden defenseman in Olympics with NHL players.

That tally came on Elvis Merzlikins, as Arturs Silovs did not start. The Penguins netminder served as the backup after getting the start in each of Latvia’s previous two games.

The 24-year-old got a 4-3 win on Saturday (Feb. 14) against Germany. He made 26 stops, 10 coming on Leon Draisaitl, one of the NHL's best players. Silovs was back between the pipes the following day against Denmark and battled hard in a 4-2 loss.

Silovs finished his first Olympics with a 3.01 goals-against average and .873 save percentage.

SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE QUARTERFINALS

It will be Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell versus Arturs Silovs in the Qualification Playoff on Tuesday, as Sweden and Latvia face off at 3:10 PM on Peacock and USA.

The winner will play Team USA in the Quarterfinals on Wednesday at 3:10 PM on Peacock and NBC.

Team Canada has a bye into the Quarterfinals. They will play the winner of the Czechia-Denmark matchup on Wednesday at 10:40 AM on Peacock and USA.

The U.S. women's hockey team, which features four DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Penguins Elite alumni - Hannah Bilka, Laila Edwards, Ava McNaughton and Gwyneth Philips - plays Canada for gold on Thursday at 1:10 PM on NBC.

A NEW MILESTONE FOR THE CAPTAIN

Jarome Iginla set up Sidney Crosby for his Golden Goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Twelve years later, on Sunday (Feb. 15) in Italy, Crosby passed Iginla for the most points by a Team Canada player in Olympics involving NHL players.

Crosby recorded a goal and two assists in Canada’s 10-2 win over France to close out their preliminary round play, giving him 15 points in 16 games played. Crosby now has six career Olympic goals, the second-most by a Team Canada player. He trails only Iginla, who has 10.

Crosby already has six points through three games at this tournament despite now being the oldest player on Canada’s roster. Back in 2010, he was the third-youngest. Scott Niedermayer was the captain of that group, and going into these Games, I talked to Niedermayer about what he had seen from Crosby in those Games.

At the end of our interview, I asked the Hockey Hall of Famer what has impressed him about Crosby’s career.

“He just goes out there, does his job better than anybody, works as hard as anybody. And obviously, we can see that now he's 38, and he's still doing it, and he's still one of the best players in the game,” Niedermayer said.

“And I think that really speaks to how he approaches it off the ice, takes care of himself, it's just really impressive. I mean, you always think, what more can he do to impress you? But then he comes up with something, and here he is at that age, as good a year as he's ever had. So, a great player that deserves all the accolades and words of amazement that he gets, for sure.”

Preliminary round action involving Penguins players came to an end on Sunday. Arturs Silovs got his second start in as many days for Latvia after helping them beat Germany on Saturday. He stopped 17 of 20 shots in their 4-2 loss to Denmark, with the final goal being scored into an empty net.

AN ARTY PARTY ON VALENTINE'S DAY

When the Penguins acquired Arturs Silovs from Vancouver in exchange for Chase Stillman and a 2027 fourth-round draft pick, Kyle Dubas said the organization's goaltending department had the 24-year-old circled for a long time. He specifically mentioned Silovs' play at the 2023 World Championship for Latvia, where the netminder led his team to the bronze medal, going 7-3-0 with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. Silovs was awarded the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Best Goaltender.

"He just shows the ability to rise in those moments," said Dubas, adding that it's difficult to find goaltenders who have that sort of intangible.

Silovs displayed that in his first-ever Olympic start on Saturday (Feb. 14) against Germany. He came up with 26 stops to help lead Latvia to a 4-3 win. Ten of those stops came against Leon Draisaitl, one of the NHL's best players. Silovs managed to keep the five-time NHL All-Star, who has won the Art Ross Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Rocket Rickard Trophy, from finding the back of the net. Remarkable stuff from Silovs.

Additionally, Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell helped Sweden earn a 5-3 win over Slovakia. Karlsson, serving as an alternate captain, picked up a pair of assists.

CROSBY SCORES HIS FIRST GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT

In the first period of Canada’s game against Switzerland on Friday (Feb. 13), Sidney Crosby got a breakaway.

He has arguably the best backhand in the league, and tried utilizing it, but Akira Schmid – currently with the Vegas Golden Knights – kicked up his leg and knocked the puck away for a beautiful scorpion save.

However, Crosby would not be denied in the third period.

He re-directed a shot past Schmid to get his first goal of the tournament and give Canada a 4-1 lead. It is Crosby's fifth in the Olympics overall, which is tied with Shea Weber (5G-7A-12PTS in 13 GP) for the fourth-most by a Team Canada player in an Olympics with NHL participation. He trails Jarome Iginla (10G-4A-14PTS in 19 GP), Dany Heatley (6G-4A-10PTS in 13 GP) and Joe Sakic (6G-7A-13PTS in 16 GP).

Team Canada ended up with a 5-1 win. This is what Crosby had to say about the victory:

“The Swiss are a fast team, and early on we were guilty of turning the puck over too much. They were able to generate some good scoring chances because of those turnovers, but [Logan Thompson] was really good for us and he made some big saves. I thought we found our game in the second period, and we played fast and got a lot of momentum off that big goal from Celebrini. We had a lot of good looks at the net tonight, and we are trending in the right direction through two games.”

And here's some Crosby-related stats, courtesy of NHL PR:

Crosby scored his first goal of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and his fifth in the Olympics overall, which is tied with Shea Weber (5-7—12 in 13 GP) for the fourth most by a Team Canada player in Olympics with NHL participation behind Iginla (10-4—14 in 19 GP), Dany Heatley (6-4—10 in 13 GP) and Sakic (6-7—13 in 16 GP). In the process, the Penguins captain also tied Weber for the third-most points by a Team Canada skater in Olympics with NHL players, trailing only Iginla and Sakic.

This morning, Sweden fell to their rival Finland, 4-1. They play their final preliminary game against undefeated Slovakia on Saturday at 6:10 AM, which will air on Peacock and CNBC.

SILOVS SEES SOME ACTION

Penguins netminder Arturs Silovs did not start Latvia's game against the United States on Thursday (Feb. 12), with Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins getting the nod. But Silovs took over to start the third period, with his team trailing 4-1. Silovs surrendered one goal, which came on a Team USA power play, in his 20 minutes of action.

While this marks the 24-year-old's first Olympic appearance, he has represented Latvia internationally before. Before Silovs left for Italy, my star staff writer Brandon Karafilis spoke to Silovs about getting another opportunity to play for his country. Read it here.

A COUPLE OF APPLES FOR CROSBY TO OPEN HIS OLYMPICS

There has been so much anticipation surrounding Sidney Crosby’s return to these Games, and rightfully so.

“There’s no coincidence — his record of when he’s worn a Canadian jersey, it’s no fluke,” Team Canada Head Coach Jon Cooper said at the 4 Nations Faceoff. “He will go down as the greatest player to ever represent his country. If not, he’s on the Mount Rushmore for sure of people who have thrown the Canadian jersey on.

“He’s a true inspiration to all the young guys in that locker room, and even older guys. In our country, he walks on water, and he is as humble as they come. You can see why he’s one of the most respected people in this game.”

In his third Olympics, Crosby – the first man to captain Canada at two Olympics – picked up two assists in their 5-0 win over Czechia to open the tournament.

Macklin Celebrini, the youngest player on the roster, opened the scoring. After that, Crosby – the oldest player on the roster – got the secondary helper on Canada’s second goal, setting up his wingers. He made a nice little touch pass to Mitch Marner, who got it over to Vegas teammate Mark Stone for the score.

It made me think of what Marner said after he got another great pass from Crosby in their win over Sweden to open the 4 Nations Faceoff: “You tell 10-year-old Mitch that he scored an overtime goal assisted by Sidney Crosby, the guy he looked up to since Day One, yeah, it’s pretty crazy.”

Crosby then worked his magic on a third-period power play, dishing a pass to Connor McDavid on the backdoor. He saucered a pass across the blue paint to Nathan MacKinnon, Crosby’s buddy and fellow Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native. Next up for Canada is a game versus Switzerland on Friday at 6:10 AM, which will air on Peacock.

KARLSSON, RAKELL GET POINTS IN FIRST OUTING

Sweden had to battle for a 5-2 win against Italy to open the tournament. The home team got stellar goaltending, as it was tied or within one goal for most of the game despite Sweden finishing with 60 shots. That is the most ever by a team in a Winter Olympics contested with NHL players.

Erik Karlsson got an assist on Sweden’s first goal of the tournament after being responsible for Sweden's last goal at an Olympics featuring NHL players. While quarterbacking Sweden’s second power-play unit, he sent a pass over to Mika Zibanejad, who found Gabriel Landeskog. He fired a shot through traffic, with Rickard Rakell at the netfront.

Rakell had factored in on the play as well, working the puck to Karlsson down at the blue line before heading to the blue paint to help provide a screen for his longtime friend, Landeskog. Both players are from Stockholm, with Landeskog a year older than Rakell. They had the same agent growing up, so they worked out together in the offseasons. “We would spend our whole summers together,” Rakell said.

And Landeskog ended up influencing Rakell’s decision to play junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League, where he joined the Plymouth Whalers.

“Gabe was playing in Kitchener at the time. Us being good friends, I mean, he was loving it,” Rakell said. “There were not many Europeans back then who were Swedish players who came over at that time. So, I thought I'd give it a shot. If I didn't like it. I was just gonna go home. But then I ended up staying for three years, and yeah, that turned out to be the right decision for me.”

Rakell was drafted by Anaheim in the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft. The following year, the Ducks selected Hampus Lindholm sixth overall. The Swedes became buddies, with Lindholm standing up in Rakell’s wedding. Now, they are rooming together in Milan. As Karlsson said, one of the things he was most looking forward to about this tournament was, “I think just being around people that you've known for a very long time, and speaking your native tongue on a regular basis.”

Rakell registered an assist of his own late in the third period. It was a secondary helper on Zibanejad’s goal. Next up for Sweden is a game versus Finland on Friday at 3:10 PM, which will air on Peacock.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

In 2010, Sidney Crosby scored the Golden Goal in his first-ever Olympics, one of the greatest moments in sports history. He then led Team Canada to gold in 2014. That year, Erik Karlsson led all players in points (4G-4A-8PTS) en route to a silver medal as the tournament’s “Best Defenseman”.

They have been waiting a long time to return to the Olympics, as NHL players did not participate in the 2018 or 2022 Games. But they are back for this year’s tournament in Milan, Italy, with the men’s preliminary round beginning today (Feb. 11).

Both players were named to their team’s leadership groups. In one of the easiest decisions ever made, Crosby was named captain of Team Canada. He and Drew Doughty are looking to become the first men's players to win three gold medals since NHLers were allowed to take part in the Olympics. Meanwhile, Karlsson is an alternate captain for Team Sweden.

Rickard Rakell is also playing for Team Sweden, making his first Olympic appearance. And Arturs Silovs was one of the first six players named to Latvia’s roster.

"It's been so long now since we've seen that with the players in our league and these guys," Penguins Head Coach Dan Muse said. "I'm excited for hockey fans across the world. I'm really excited for our players, that they're going to have that opportunity and get to be a part of something really special, getting to represent their countries. I think it's always exciting, but especially where it's been such a long time now."

The Penguins are also well-represented from a staff standpoint. President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas is the Director of Player Personnel for Team Canada. New Strength & Conditioning Coach Sean Young has worked with Hockey Canada since 2021, so he's been juggling duties. He worked the World Junior Championship over the holidays before traveling to Italy for this tournament. And Video Coach Madison Nikkel is serving in that same role for Team USA.

All games involving Penguins players/staff are below. We plan to post updates and content in this feed throughout the Games, so stay tuned!

PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE

Wednesday, Feb. 11

Sweden vs. Italy, 3:10 PM (USA, Peacock)

Thursday, Feb. 12

Canada vs. Czechia, 10:40 AM (USA, Peacock)

Latvia vs. United States, 3:10 PM (USA, Peacock)

Friday, Feb. 13

Sweden vs. Finland, 6:10 AM (Peacock)

Canada vs. Switzerland, 3:10 PM (Peacock)

Saturday, Feb. 14

Sweden vs. Slovakia, 6:10 AM (Peacock)

Latvia vs. Germany, 6:10 AM (CNBC, Peacock)

United States vs. Denmark, 3:10 PM (USA, Peacock)

Sunday, Feb. 15

Canada vs. France, 10:40 AM (USA, Peacock)

Latvia vs. Denmark, 1:10 PM (CNBC, Peacock)

United States vs. Germany, 3:10 PM (USA, Peacock)

There will then be a round of qualifying games before semifinals on Friday, Feb. 20. The bronze medal game is Saturday, Feb. 21 at 2:40 PM. The gold medal game is Sunday, Feb. 22 at 8:10 AM.