Sidney Crosby, other NHLers lament Connor McDavid’s ‘flukey’ injury

VANCOUVER – As news of Connor McDavid’s broken collarbone filtered through the NHL, players across the league lamented the injury, including the superstar most commonly compared to the Edmonton Oilers’ phenom.

“You could tell he was really starting to get comfortable and feeling good out there,” Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said in Vancouver. “It’s definitely unfortunate.”

McDavid was hurt in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers after appearing to lose an edge before crashing into the end boards with two defenders.

The Oilers said Wednesday that McDavid requires surgery and will be out “months,” meaning that the 18-year-old will miss out on his first chance to face Crosby head-to-head when Edmonton hosts Pittsburgh on Friday.

“It’s just kind of a flukey thing,” added Crosby, whose Penguins visited the Canucks on Wednesday. “It’s one thing to go into the boards like that, but most times you don’t have two guys following you up to have that happen. It’s unfortunate and hopefully he can recover soon and get back out there.”

Maple Leafs left-winger Joffrey Lupul pointed to Crosby as an example that even the best players in the world can go down at any time.

“Sid’s gotten hurt a bunch of times and he’s come back and hasn’t really missed a beat,” Lupul said in Toronto prior to his team’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. “That’s part of hockey and something that he’ll have to deal with. But it’s unfortunate, I like watching him play.”

Buffalo Sabres centre Jack Eichel, who was taken No. 2 behind McDavid at June’s draft, echoed Lupul’s thoughts.

“Hockey is a physical game and things happen,” Eichel told reporters in Buffalo. “Guys get hurt all the time. It’s going to happen. I guess good luck to him in his recovery.”

McDavid had five goals and seven assists before getting injured in his 13th game of the season.

“He’s a guy that fans come to watch each and every night and they’re tuning in to see him play,” said Jets captain Andrew Ladd. “Tough loss for the league and for him. Obviously, it’s his first year in the NHL and you never want to see a kid go down, especially after such a good start. But it’s kind of part of the game, too. I’m sure he’ll come back.”

— With files from Stephen Whyno in Toronto

—

Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter