It’s the question everyone in Canada is asking.
Will Sidney Crosby play in the Olympics gold medal game? The captain missed the semifinal, and the final is on Sunday against Team USA.
Crosby is the oldest player on Canada’s roster and left the quarterfinal with a lower-body injury.
He’s a third-line center and a member of the first powerplay unit, when healthy.
It doesn’t seem like he’ll be at his full health for the gold medal game. But can he play? You’d sure think Crosby wants to.
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Is Sidney Crosby playing in the gold medal game?
This one is going to come down to a game-time decision.
Crosby has been given a chance to play by head coach Jon Cooper, but Cooper wouldn’t give anything major to lean on in his comments Saturday.
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported Saturday that it’s a 70% chance that Crosby suits up and plays.
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Of course, Canada would love to have Crosby out there, but it’s tricky.
If he dresses but then turns out not to be healthy enough to keep playing, Canada is one player light in its rotation.
If he doesn’t play, though, that’s a major leader and an Olympic legend who they can’t lean on on the ice.
Crosby was said to be impacting conversations in the locker room during intermissions in the semifinal, so maybe he could at least do that again.
Official lineups aren’t due until about an hour before game time on Sunday. Most fans in North America will only learn the Crosby news once they wake up to their early alarm.
