Injured Crosby misses Olympic semifinal vs. Finland

Canada captain Sidney Crosby missed Friday's semifinal against Finland after sustaining an apparent lower-body injury in Wednesday's win over Czechia.

Canada's staff even searched for a custom brace to help Crosby play, but couldn't find a solution, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Connor McDavid is wearing the "C" with Crosby unavailable, while Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon will serve as alternates. Olympic rules require teams to designate a captain for every contest.

Crosby notched six points in four Olympic games before the injury. He was anchoring Canada's third line with Mitch Marner and Mark Stone and playing on the top power-play unit.

Nick Suzuki, who scored the tying goal late in the third period against Czechia, will fill Crosby's spot on the depth chart. Sam Bennett is also drawing back into the lineup after being sidelined for the quarterfinal due to illness.

Crosby has missed only two games for the Pittsburgh Penguins since 2022-23. His status for Sunday's gold-medal matchup is unclear if Canada advances.

Head coach Jon Cooper said Wednesday that Crosby was "by no means" ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.

Canada is also without defenseman Josh Morrissey, who's been out of action since suffering an injury in the tournament opener.