Red Wings at Penguins
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Penguins were forced to play nearly a year without Sidney Crosby, and it appears the team could be looking at another prolonged absence without their superstar center. The Penguins announced Monday Crosby would be sidelined indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. Crosby emphasized the symptoms were not nearly as severe as the concussion that kept him out of the lineup for 10 1/2 months. "I'm way better off than I was dealing with this stuff 10 months ago or whatever it was," Crosby said. "You have to listen to your body. ... This is just something I've got to be careful with." Crosby had two goals and 10 assists in eight games since rejoining the team last month, but will sit out his third straight game when the Penguins host the streaking Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (18-9-1): Detroit rolls into Pittsburgh having won eight of its last 10 games, including back-to-back home routs of Phoenix (5-2) and Winnipeg (7-1) in its last two. After going without a goal for 20 straight games, Jiri Hudler has tallied four times in his last three. Valtteri Filppula has seven goals and four assists in his last eight games – one of which he exited with a lacerated shin. Center Pavel Datsyuk has seven multi-point games in his last 11.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (17-9-4): Crosby’s injury was just the latest setback for Pittsburgh’s skating M*A*S*H unit. Defensemen Kris Letang and Zbynek Michalek are sidelined with concussions and center Jordan Staal is expected to miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury. Left wing James Neal had two goals in Saturday’s 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders and is tied for second in the league with 17. Center Evgeni Malkin had two assists Saturday, giving him six multi-point games in his last 10.
OVERTIME:
1. Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard leads the league in wins with 17. Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury is second with 15.
2. The Penguins won both meetings with the Red Wings last season.