Pens 0, Lightning 3

The Pens lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning by the score of 3-0 Friday night at the Igloo. The uninspired play was most likely the result of a first period injury to Pens captain and leader, Sidney Crosby. Sid slid into the boards behind the goal mount while attempting to get control of a loose puck. His right foot was bent inward producing what is being called a high ankle sprain.

Pittsburgh has has some extremely bad luck with this particular injury this season. Both Max Talbot and Marc Andre Fleury have suffered with this condition recently and have been out of the lineup for extended periods of time. Talbot was injured in November and sat out a few weeks before attempting an ill fated comeback too early which shelved him for an additional four weeks. Fleury has been out since mid December and, taking a lesson learned from Talbot, has been careful not to put too much strain on his ankle too quickly. Talbot his since returned to the lineup and Fleury is ready to start practicing with the team.

The severity of Sid's injury is not known at this time. The team is most likely keeping a very tight lid on this information. He will, however, be replaced for the All Star game next weekend.

Losing the team captain and natural leader can have a devastating impact on the remaining players. The team will have to come together and play as a unit for the entire sixty minutes of each and every game to pull out victories. Players that have not been producing, such as Jordan Stall, Ryan Malone and Erik Christensen, will have to step up their scoring as well as their locker room leadership. Evgeni Malkin has a larger load on his shoulders but with his recent performance can hardly be asked to increase his production. His leadership on the ice will be sufficient to give the rest of the team an indication of how hard they will have to work to get some points in the W column.