Penguins captain Sidney Crosby out for at least Game 6 vs. Rangers

It's unknown if Crosby could be available for a potential Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, but history suggests he'd be a spectator for that contest if his teammates don't get the job done at home later on Friday.

Crosby exited Wednesday's matchup before the end of the second period following a controversial high hit delivered by Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba and never returned. The future Hall of Famer with a worrisome history of head injuries and issues related to concussions is officially "day-to-day" due to an announced unspecified upper-body injury, and it's likely his status for a potential Game 7 wouldn't be known until late Sunday morning or some point in the afternoon. 

Trouba avoided supplemental discipline from the league. 

Until Wednesday's development, the Rangers proved to have few answers for Crosby and his line. The 34-year-old center leads the Pens for the series with nine points and seven assists. 

"Kind of tried going stick on puck when he was gonna shoot," Trouba told reporters on Thursday about Wednesday's incident. "My stick kind of went in between his legs and kind of hit his thigh, kind of pushed my arm up. Kind of a fluky play, wasn't massively hard contact. Unfortunately, you don't ever want to see a guy get hurt. I don't know exactly what the injury is, but hopefully, he's better soon."

It's assumed Evgeni Malkin will replace Crosby as Pittsburgh's first-line center. Pittsburgh recalled forward Radim Zohorna from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League on Thursday.