Penguins' Sidney Crosby breaks silence on injury, Olympics, return timeline and gold medal game

The hockey world got a chance to hear from Sidney Crosby for the first time since his Olympics injury with Team Canada that kept him out of the last two games of the tournament.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' captain spoke with reporters in the locker room on Wednesday for his media availability, shortly after the Penguins announced Crosby would miss at least four weeks with a lower-body injury.

Crosby discussed all aspects of his last week-plus, as well as what's to come.

Here are some takeaways.

How close was Sidney Crosby to playing gold medal game?

"Close," Crosby told reporters. "A lot closer than I thought a day or two after (the injury). I didn't think it was necessarily gonna be an option. The fact that I even had a chance or was close to it, the staff was unbelievable."

Crosby ended up missing out on the 2-1 overtime loss to Team USA.

"Unfortunately it just wasn't something I could do," Crosby said.

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How Penguins' season impacted Crosby's decision

Penguins fans were likely watching and hoping Crosby wouldn't make anything worse before returning to the NHL.

That wasn't on Crosby's mind.

"I'll be honest with you, all I cared about was playing that game," Crosby said. "That's not any disrespect to our team or how I feel about this season... Given the opportunity to play in the Olympics, in that game, trying to play was all my focus was on."

How long will Sidney Crosby be out?

The Penguins announced that it'll be at least a four-week absence.

"As far as a timeline, I think you're just trying to wrap your head around each day and give yourself a chance to play," Crosby said of the Olympics. "... It's different timelines for everybody. I don't know if I was surprised. I didn't know what to expect. I haven't really had this kind of injury before."

The Penguins could be without Crosby for 15 games if he misses four weeks exactly.

They'll have to figure out how to go without him.

"I'm confident," Crosby said. "We've had injuries, and guys have stepped up all year."

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