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Status uncertain for Penguins star Crosby

Nov 1, 2008 - 10:57 AM Pittsburgh (5-4-2) at St. Louis (5-4-0) 8:30 p.m. EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is hurt. His exact injury, though, is anyone's guess.

Crosby's status for Saturday's contest against the St. Louis Blues is up in the air after the superstar skated off the ice in the Penguins' last game.

The 21-year-old phenom left Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes in the second period with an undisclosed injury and is listed as day-to-day. Crosby, who missed 29 games with a high ankle sprain last season, had one shot on goal in nearly 16 minutes of ice time before departing with less than five minutes left in the middle session.

There was no word on how Crosby was injured, and the 2006 Hart Trophy winner did not elaborate much on the injury during a postgame interview.

"I had some discomfort," said Crosby, who has three goals and 10 assists in 11 games this season. "I decided that in the third period, it didn't seem like I could do much."

The NHL does not require teams to disclose the specific nature of players' injuries. However, clubs are expected to report if a player is expected to miss a game due to injury or will not return to a game after getting hurt.

With or without Crosby, the Penguins still need to find a way to stop the Blues, who possessed one of the league's top offenses before being shut out twice in their last three games, including a 1-0 setback to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. In between, however, rookie Ben Bishop and Marek Schwarz combined to make 17 saves as St. Louis blanked Florida on October 25.

Veteran Keith Tkachuk is tied for second in the league with eight goals, while Andy McDonald shares third place overall with 11 assists.