MILAN — Hours before Lukas Dostal and his Czech brethren got ousted by mighty Team Canada, the goaltender wanted to talk about Sidney Crosby, even though no one had asked him about Sidney Crosby.
The 25-year-old had spotted Crosby, 38, by himself, riding a bike hard, just moments after the captain had geared down from one of Canada’s preliminary-round games.
Dostal plays a different position for a different country and is of another generation. But he took a lesson from that brief crossing of paths.
“You know, that’s something I want to do as well,” Dostal said. “Just taking care of my body and play as long as I can. This is the recipe, and you see it with those guys. It’s doable.”
Today, as the Canadians wake up having dodged a Czech bullet that their leader could not Matrix his way out of, they have a similar mindset.
It’s doable, a gold medal, even if they must enter battle without their serial winner and pristine leader.
“We’ve got lots of guys that lead. That’s the beauty of this team. Everybody in that room is a leader in their room. That won’t be an issue,” Connor McDavid said Thursday, inside Milano Santigiulia’s makeshift practice rink.
Crosby’s right leg crumpled under the weight of a Radko Gudas hit midway through Canada’s skin-of-its-teeth 4-3 OT win over Czechia Wednesday. He limped off the ice, bound for an MRI and a cloud of uncertainty for Friday’s semifinal and (if Canada survives Finland) Sunday’s gold-medal game.
“Sid is by no means ruled out of the tournament. We’ve got the best of the best looking at him. I can speak for (injured defenceman Josh) Morrissey as well, same boat,” head coach Jon Cooper said. “We’re taking this day by day. And we’re not going to put anyone in harm’s way. But if he can play, he’s definitely going to. We’ll know more again in 24 hours.”
McDavid said Crosby left his teammates with a message once he realized he was too hurt to skate: Just get it done. Keep going.
International rules state that every team dress a captain, and there should be zero doubt as to whom takes the torch for Canada. (Even if Cooper won’t go there until Crosby is ruled out.)
Cooper has seen the leadership of alternate captain McDavid swell since 2025’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
“Everybody was looking to Sid in that tournament. Guys like (Drew) Doughty and (Brad) Marchand, the guys that have been there for a number of years, were the more vocal guys who stepped up,” Cooper said.
“But I’m seeing much more out of the group now, especially Connor. Not that he wasn’t comfortable, but I think there was a lot of uncertainty, especially because we hadn’t seen best-on-best and this group hadn’t been together for so long. In this tournament, he’s been fabulous.”
The best and most determined player on the sheet in all four games, McDavid’s next point will set a record for most by anyone in an NHL-participation Olympics. He’s already set a tone.
“Never played against a player like him in my entire career,” Doughty said. “Great guy off the ice, fun to hang around. And then when it’s game time, he’s dialled in and ready to go. And he puts that jersey on, and he’s the best player on the ice every night. It’s crazy.”
Though unable to participate in Thursday’s optional skate, Crosby is still hanging around the boys, “doing his leadership things,” Doughty said.
“But we got tons of guys that can step up and fill the leadership void. Obviously, it’s almost impossible to fill the player void. But we’ll do our best.”
Enter Nick Suzuki, hot off the most important goal of his life — a brilliant game-tying, medal-chance-saving tip in the 56th minute.
Suzuki, who struggled to find his footing on Nathan MacKinnon’s wing, should slide to his natural centre position and take Crosby’s slot between Mitch Marner and Mark Stone on the only unit Cooper had refused to break up.
“They’ve probably been our most consistent line, those three, defensively, offensively,” Suzuki said. “There’s a lot of responsibility to get put out there late in games and want to do the job. Obviously, filled some pretty big shoes. So, you know, just try to do the best I can.”
Suzuki calls Crosby “one of the toughest guys in the whole league.” Only a serious injury will keep him out.
“Even as a person, just watching him, how he goes about his day-to-day, how he treats everyone, how leads by example, really, everything that he does… I just want to do the same things,” Sam Bennett said. “He does everything right.”
Following their quarterfinal scare, Canada must do more things right — fewer turnovers and odd-man rushes allowed — Friday against Finland, which required a three-goal rally and four periods to oust the Swiss.
“Your tournament kind of flashed before your eyes. So, it makes you grateful for another day here in this tournament, grateful for another game. They feel the same way, I’m sure,” McDavid said.
“I know we feel energized by it. I’m sure they do, too. It’ll be a great game tomorrow.”
Adds Cooper: “The Finns always seem to be standing when it comes to medal time. And if you remotely take that team lightly, they’re going to bite you.”
McDavid & Co. are ready to chomp, though. Even if 97 is asked to borrow 87’s letter for a night.
“He’s Sidney Crosby,” McDavid said. “He’s going to have a big influence no matter what. In the lineup, not in the lineup, he’s going to have a big influence. That’s what he does.”
One-Timers: Bennett said he was too sick to play but feels much better now. Put him in, regardless of Crosby’s status…. Morrissey continues to practise hard. We see him as an upgrade to the blue line if he’s cleared to play…. Radko Gudas on his hit on Crosby: “I was just trying to hold the red line. Just trying to play hard. Everybody is playing physical… Hopefully he’s OK. You never want to see a guy get hurt, especially in these tournaments.”
