Crosby out of men’s hockey semifinal, McDavid to captain Canada

MILAN - Canada will have to win without captain Sidney Crosby to reach the Olympic gold-medal game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar was scratched from Canada’s lineup with a lower-body injury ahead of its men’s hockey semifinal Friday against Finland at the Milan Cortina Games.

Connor McDavid will serve as captain in Crosby’s absence.

Crosby exited Canada’s nail-biting overtime win over Czechia in the quarterfinals after his right leg crumpled as he braced for a neutral-zone hit from bruising defenceman Radko Gudas in the second period.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist played another 13 seconds before Gudas and Czech forward Martin Necas sandwiched him along the boards. One stride later, he circled back to the bench in noticeable discomfort before limping down the tunnel.

Forward Sam Bennett will draw into the lineup after missing the quarterfinals with an illness.

Defenceman Josh Morrissey will miss his fourth consecutive game with an undisclosed injury after skating in practice Thursday. Canada held a closed practice session Friday morning.

The United States and Slovakia face off in the other semifinal later Friday at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. The bronze-medal game is scheduled for Saturday, followed by Sunday’s matchup for gold.

Crosby is competing in his third Olympics. He scored the iconic golden goal in Canada’s overtime win over the United States at Vancouver 2010, then captained the country to the top of the podium at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi before the NHL skipped the 2018 and 2022 Games.

The 38-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., has two goals and four assists through four games in Milan. He holds the Canadian NHL-era record of 16 career Olympic points.

Canada coach Jon Cooper said Thursday he wouldn’t rule Crosby out for the remainder of the tournament.

McDavid, meanwhile, has two goals and nine assists across four games in his Olympic debut. The Edmonton Oilers captain is one point shy of setting a single-tournament scoring record at an NHL-attended Games.

By Daniel Rainbird.