Crosby Injured in Penguins Pre-Season Defeat in Columbus

The biggest story coming out of last night's preseason game for the Penguins in Columbus against the Blue Jackets was not that they lost hard, 5-2, for their third straight pre-season loss, but instead the fact that center and Captain Sidney Crosby was forced to leave the game just 5 minutes into the contest with a groin injury.

The team does not believe the injury to be serious and indicated that Crosby left the game more as a precautionary measure than anything, but Crosby did say that the groin has been flaring up on him in recent days.

No word on whether he'll be ready to play for the home and season opener exactly one week from today on October 2 against the New York Rangers, but early indications are that he should be ready to go in that one if he stays off the skates for a few days.

Crosby missed about 3/4 games with a groin strain last year, and that ended up being about a week. We'll see where he is this time around.

On the ice, the Penguins looked disorganized and a step behind the Blue Jackets last night.

Columbus got a strong game in goal from Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason, who only allowed goals from Evgeni Malkin and Nate Guenin in the win.

At the other end of the ice, Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury wasn't nearly as sharp in stopping 27 shots.

Guenin, by the way, continued to make a case for himself as the #7 defenseman.

The game was also very physical, with 6 total fighting majors, including 2 victories by Pens' LW Paul Bissonette.

The Penguins' final pre-season game is Sunday night on the road against Detroit. While Pens' HCDB has said that game, like last night, will be a dress rehearsal for the regular season, it's unlikely that Crosby will suit up for it.

More over the weekend.

Let's Go Pens.