PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins will have to start their playoff push without Sidney Crosby.
The club placed its longtime captain on injured reserve on Wednesday. The move comes after Crosby sustained a lower-body injury during the Olympic hockey tournament at the Milan Cortina Games.
The 38-year-old three-time Stanley Cup winner went down in the second period of Canada's quarterfinal win over Czechia. The Canadians held out hope Crosby would be able to return, but he sat out a semifinal win over Finland and a loss to the United States in the gold medal game.
Crosby, who is expected to miss at least four weeks, does not regret his decision to play in Milan.
“It’s the Olympics and it’s an amazing experience just as an athlete, not just as a hockey player,” he said, later adding, “obviously injuries are part of the game.”
Crosby did not have an issue with the hit he absorbed from Czechia defenseman Radko Gudas.
“He was trying to be physical and play hard as any defenseman would and it just went the wrong way as far as on my end of it,” he said.
Crosby credited the medical staff in Italy with helping him have a shot at playing in the gold medal game. He believes he came “a lot closer” than he thought he would to suiting up for Team Canada in the final.
Asked if he considered playing in a limited capacity, such as being relegated to strictly the power play, Crosby shook his head.
"If you can’t go out there and do a job and be relied upon ... then you can’t force it and that’s really what it came down to,” he said.
The injury comes with the surprising Penguins in second place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh is looking to return to the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Crosby has been his usually productive self this season. He leads the Penguins in goals (27), assists (32) and points (59) and is on pace to extend his NHL record of averaging at least a point a game to 21 years and counting.
“Obviously, I want to be back out there as soon as possible,” he said. "Just have to figure out what that looks like and how that’s going to be and be at my best when I come back.”
Pittsburgh opens the post-Olympic break at home against New Jersey on Thursday. The matchup with the Devils is the first of 13 games in a 24-day stretch for the Penguins.
“All year we’ve had injuries (and) guys have stepped up,” he said. “To get to where we’re at at this point, it’s because of our team play.”
This story has been corrected to say Canada played Finland in the Olympic hockey semifinals.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Canada's Sidney Crosby (87) is attended to after being injured during the second period of a men's ice hockey quarterfinal game between Canada and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Canada's Sidney Crosby (87) reacts after Canada lost to the United States in a men's ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A five-judge panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously voted to convict those accused of plotting the 2018 killing of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes, a case that exposed deep-rooted ties between politics and organized crime.
The case has stirred emotions in the politically divided nation. Some see Franco as a martyr and symbol of left-wing resistance, while allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro have attacked her legacy and the tributes paid to her since her death.
The five men on trial for the killing of the 38-year-old human rights activist-turned-politician were former congressman Chiquinho Brazão; his brother who was a member of a Rio government watchdog, Domingos Brazão; his assistant Robson Calixto Fonseca; former police investigator Rivaldo Barbosa and former police officer Ronald Paulo Alves Pereira.
The Brazão brothers were convicted of the murders of Franco and Gomes and the attempted murder of Fernanda Chaves, Franco’s press officer who was in the car and survived the drive-by shooting. They were sentenced to 76 years and three months in prison.
Pereira was also convicted of the murders and attempted murder and sentenced to 56 years. Barbosa was convicted of passive corruption and obstruction of justice and sentenced to 18 years. Fonseca was convicted of participation in a criminal organization and sentenced to nine years.
Victims' families will also receive 7 million reais ($1.4 million) in compensation for moral damages.
The Brazão brothers were arrested in 2024 as alleged masterminds of the crime. Investigations have linked them to vigilante groups known as militias, which often antagonized Franco.
As he voted in favor of convicting the accused, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the driving force behind the crime stemmed from a need to maintain “militia modus operandi, to preserve financial gains and to maintain political power in the area.”
Justice Cármen Lúcia expressed her empathy with the victims' families. “Human justice is not capable of soothing this pain,” she said.
The trial began Tuesday, with deputy Attorney-General Hindenburgo Chateaubriand arguing that all five suspects should be found guilty as charged and saying the Brazão brothers led a criminal organization whose primary target was Marcelo Freixo, a politician and current head of Brazil’s government tourism agency, because he interfered with their businesses. Franco worked with Freixo before she was elected councilwoman in 2016.
All the suspects had denied any connection with the councilwoman's killing.
Prosecutors say many of the charges came from plea bargain deals signed with former police officers Ronnie Lessa and Élcio Queiroz, sentenced in October 2024 for the killings to 78 and 59 years in prison, respectively.
Amnesty International Brazil said the case revealed police corruption, obstruction of justice and the operation of organized crime within the state apparatus. “There will be no real justice, nor guarantees of non-repetition, unless these problems are addressed,” it said in a statement, adding that Brazil is one of the countries where human rights defenders are most killed.
The Marielle Franco Institute, set up after Franco's death, said in a statement the convictions mark “a new Brazil. A country that affirms that the lives of Marielle and Anderson matter, that democracy does not tolerate the silence imposed by violence, and that justice is possible when the people stand tall.”
Crime and violence frequently appear as Brazilians' top concern.
On Tuesday, Brazilian lawmakers approved a bill that increases penalties for participation in criminal organizations and provides for the seizure of assets belonging to those under investigation in certain circumstances. It will now go to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for sanctioning.
The bill's adoption, as well as the convictions in Franco's case, are important steps towards tackling widespread impunity for participation in organized crime in Brazil, said Luis Flavio Sapori, a sociologist and public safety expert at Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais.
“But there is still much to be done, especially in creating more effective mechanisms for integration between the federal government and states to confront organized crime,” he added.
Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Judge Alexandre de Moraes attends the second day of the trial of those accused of ordering the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco at the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
A live image of Judge Alexandre de Moraes is shown at the Supreme Court as family members of the murdered councilwoman Marielle Franco attend the second day of the trial of those accused of ordering the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Antonio Francisco, left, the father of the councilwoman Marielle Franco, pose for photos with his daughter Anielle Franco, who is Minister of Racial Equality, second from left, and his granddaughter Luyara Franco, third from the left, his wife Marinete Silva, second from right, and Monica Benicio, the widow of Marielle Franco, before the start of the second day of the trial of those accused of ordering the murder of Marielle Franco, at the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Judge Flavio Dino, center top, presides over the second day of trial of those accused of ordering the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco at the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Marinete Silva, mother of councilwoman Marielle Franco, right, gives a news conference with her family at the Supreme Court on the first day of the trial of those accused of ordering her daughter's murder, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Racial Equality Minister Anielle Franco attends the first day of trial of those accused of ordering the murder of her sister, councilwoman Marielle Franco, at the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Judge Alexandre de Moraes attends the first day of trial of those accused of ordering the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco at the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
