Pittsburgh Penguins' head coach Dan Muse said they need to have conversations with the medical staff about Sidney Crosby's availability for a critical Monday matchup against the New York Islanders
If the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to make the playoffs - or make any kind of run in the playoffs - it would serve them well to get healthy as soon as possible.
And they may have their best player back for the biggest matchup of their season on Monday night.
Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby - who sustained a lower-body injury during Pittsburgh's 4-3 shootout win against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday - skated with the team on Monday morning and, according to head coach Dan Muse, is still being evaluated as an option for their standings-critical game against the New York Islanders later the same day.
Forward Evgeni Malkin - day-to-day with an upper-body injury - was ruled out for the game, while Muse didn't want to give any specifics on other players such as Bryan Rust and Noel Acciari, who also skated Monday but missed Sunday's team practice for "maintenance" reasons.
"I still have to have conversations with the medical staff, so in regards to everybody, I'm not going to comment right now," Muse said after the morning skate. "I'm just waiting until I have some final conversations with the medical staff in regards to the game lineup."
The Penguins did call up forward Avery Hayes as insurance before their game against the Islanders, who are one point above the Penguins - who sit in the third place - in the Metropolitan Division standings as of now. They will still have a game in hand on the Isles after their Monday matchup, so a regulation win would go a long way in giving them a higher chance of making the playoffs.
The Penguins have nine regular season games remaining, and they also play the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. They will conclude their 2025-26 with six games against teams that are currently out of the playoff picture.
In addition to Crosby and Malkin, the Penguins have also been playing without the services of Blake Lizotte, who is a key part of their bottom-six and has missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury. He is currently set to be re-evaluated during the final week of the regular season.
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