Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, starting netminder Tristan Jarry and forward Rikard Rakell are all game-time decisions for Sunday's Game 7 against the New York Rangers, head coach Mike Sullivan said.
Penguins defenceman Brian Dumoulin, who has been out since Game 1, has been ruled out for Game 7. Forward Brian Boyle was hurt early in Game 6 and is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, Sullivan said.
Crosby missed Pittsburgh's 5-3 Game 6 loss to New York on Friday, while Jarry has been out due to breaking his foot on April 14, and Rakell has been out since Game 1 after taking a hit from Rangers defenceman Ryan Lindgren.
With Jarry ruled a game-time decision, Sullivan declined to say who his starting goaltender would be for Sunday's do-or-die game.
Crosby left Game 5 on Wednesday during the second period after Rangers defenceman Jacob Trouba connected with him on a hard, high hit near the faceoff dot amid a scramble for the puck.
Crosby fell to the ice, rose to his skates, and immediately headed for the bench. The Penguins star went on to play two more shifts before leaving the game for good. The NHL did not discipline Trouba for the play.
While the Penguins have not offered anything specific on the injury, ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported it was a concussion on Friday, while DailyFaceoff's Frank Seravalli reports as of Sunday afternoon that Crosby was not diagnosed with a concussion.
Through the first five games of the series, Crosby was playing some of his finest playoff hockey in years, leading the Penguins with nine points, scoring two goals and adding seven assists.
Jarry started 56 games this season, earning 34 wins and posting a .919 save percentage. Backup Casey DeSmith began the post-season manning the crease for the Penguins, but fell out of action after suffering an abdominal injury in double-overtime of Game 1. DeSmith has since undergone core muscle surgery and been ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs.
Since then, journeyman Louis Domingue has backstopped the Penguins through the series, posting an .898 save percentage in the six games.
When it comes to Crosby, head injuries are especially worrisome given his history of concussions.
The two-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner missed the second half of the 2010-11 season, and the majority of the following season, with post-concussion issues.
For a time, during those turbulent years, there were concerns Crosby may never be able to make a full return to the game. He's since said that the work done by neurologists at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre and Ted Carrick, a Canadian chiropractic neurologist, helped him get back to playing hockey.
"When you get a typical injury you're given a time frame, you're gradually working towards getting back," Crosby said in 2013 when discussing his struggles with head trauma. "With concussions there is not generally a time frame or a span where you're feeling better. You feel like you're getting better and it can be one day and you're back to where you started. It's a frustrating injury and one that anyone has gone through can relate. It's a hard one to understand unless you've gone through it."
The Penguins visit the Rangers in a do-or-die Game 7 Sunday night on Sportsnet and SN NOW. Game begins at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
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