The Pittsburgh Penguins placed Sidney Crosby on injured reserve, after he suffered a high ankle sprain in Friday night's 3-0 loss to Tampa Bay.  Crosby will miss 7-8 weeks, according to the Pittsburgh Sports Insider quoting sources close to the team, including the All-Star game, with an injury that has sidelined teammate and starting goalie Marc Andre-Fleury for over a month. Fleury, who has been out since Dec. 6, will likely miss 6-8 weeks and possibly longer.

“The bigger question is how long will Crosby be sidelined? Pittsburgh Sports Insider has been told by a source close to the team that both Crosby and the Penguins organization are expecting him to be sidelined at least 7-8 weeks. The organization is worried that rushing Crosby back before he’s fully healed could cause him to re-injure the ankle which could affect his status for the playoffs.

If the timetable is accurate, that would have Crosby returning to the lineup the first week of March. That would give him exactly one month of gameaction before the NHL playoffs begin.

Once again, Crosby is expected to be out of the Penguins lineup for up to two months.”

What is a high ankle sprain?  What is the prognosis?  Kate Grossman MD of About.com provides us with her own definition and explanation.

"A high ankle sprain injures the large ligament above the ankle that joins together the two bones of the lower leg. These two bones, the tibia (shin bone) and fibula, run from the knee down to the ankle. They are joined together by this ligament called the "syndesmosis" or "sydesmotic ligament."

Patients who sustain a high ankle sprain injure this syndesmotic ligament. The ligament can also be an associated injury with more common low ankle sprains, and even ankle fractures."

"Your orthopedic doctor will first determine if the injury is stable or unstable. If the injury is stable, then the high ankle sprain can be treated in a cast, usually for a period of 6 weeks."

Yikes.  Even though I am a New Jersey Devils fan and want them to capture the Atlantic Division, I hate terrible, painful injuries, as a high ankle sprain to the league’s most marketable and arguably most talented skater.

Yikes.  Instead of focusing on Crosby, I will focus on the “March of the Penguins.”

First, I apologize about the pun, considering that Sid the Kid is supposed to return in March, giving him about a month left in the regular season.  In all seriousness though, can Pittsburgh overcome this serious setback to its hockey organization?  Well, the Penguins have a unique rotation of skaters and goaltenders, who must perform in Crosby’s absence.  They have the veterans, Petr Sykora who has 594 career points, and defensemen Darryl Sydor and Sergei Gonchar who have played professionally since 1991 and 1994 respectively.  Pittsburgh also has the youth to complement the more experienced.  Jordan Staal of the Staal brothers (Eric, Marc and Jared) was born in 1998, six years after Gonchar started his NHL career.  Oh yeah, and Evgeni Malkin, the Russian phenom not named Ovechkin and Kovalchuk for that matter.

In the meanwhile, the Penguins rely on their 2004 1st round 2nd overall Evgeni Malkin, whose 56 points in 48 games is among league leaders.  Malkin and Staal shared rookie of the year honors last season, but Staal is in the middle of a sophomore slump (14 points, -9 in 48 games).

Immediately following Crosby’s injury, the Penguins defeated Montreal 2-0 but lost to Washington last night, 6-5, in the shootout.  After scoring the empty-netter in their win over the Habs, Malkin showed up for another two and a helper versus the Capitals.  It still was not enough though as Ovechkin and Co. continued their winning ways and are now 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.

I am not sure why Pittsburgh did not insert Malkin as a shootout skater in three-round playoff.  Maybe, he was exhausted after that bone-crunching check on Alexander Ovechkin, who returned to score in the shootout.  Interesting coaching by both clubs.

The Penguins travel to Philadelphia for their final game before the All Star break, before reaching New Jersey and Atlanta during their important (yet separated) three game road stint.

They just might have to travel without leading vote getter and reigning league MVP and Crosby.

The road to the playoffs does not get any easier for the Pens, not in the Atlantic, that’s for certain.

Malkin made sure to keep them physical last night.  Just ask Ovechkin.

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