The Pittsburgh Penguins will open their 2021-2022 regular season on Tuesday against two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, and they will do so without future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby.
In accordance with Emily Kaplan from ESPNThe eight-time All-Star player will miss the first season due to ongoing recovery from wrist surgery.
“Crosby, 34, traveled to Tampa Bay and began training with the team, but he is still recovering from left wrist surgery in early September. The original schedule for Crosby’s return was six weeks. “
Crosby said he is “getting better, getting closer” to returning, and it will be “hopefully in a week or two.”
Kaplan’s report notes that Pittsburgh will also lose to three-time Stanley Cup champion and longtime Penguins player Yevgeny Malkin, who will miss the first two months of the campaign as he recuperates from offseason knee surgery. The team will also not feature strikers Jake Günzel and Zach Aston-Reese, both of whom tested positive for COVID-19 during the training camp.
This will be the first match for Pittsburgh without Crosby and Malkin. since 2003… Malkin’s career in the NHL started in 2006 and Crosby started in 2005, and the 2004-2005 season was not due to a lockout in the NHL. Crosby led the Penguins with 62 points in 55 games last year.