Penguins' Crosby Out For 6-8 Weeks

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without Sidney Crosby for much longer than expected. Crosby will miss between six and eight weeks while recovering from a high ankle sprain, the Penguins announced Tuesday. The NHL's second-leading scorer, Crosby was placed on injured reserve Monday and was projected to be sidelined up to a month. But Penguins Dr. Chip Burke re-evaluated Crosby a day later, determining that the All-Star center will not return to action until at least early March.

Crosby, 20, suffered the injury in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning when he was pulled down from behind by defenseman Paul Ranger. Crosby slammed into the end boards, jamming his right foot with 12:23 left in the first period. Losing Crosby for an extended period would be a devastating blow for the Penguins (27-17-4), who own a one-point lead atop the Atlantic Division.

The reigning Hart Trophy winner, Crosby has 20 goals and a league-leading 43 assists in 46 games this season. The Nova Scotia native is tied with Calgary's Jarome Iginla and Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk for second in the NHL in scoring, one point behind Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier. Earlier this month, Crosby was named a starter for the Eastern Conference in this season's All-Star Game, becoming the leading vote-getter for the second straight year.