Penguins coach provides a crucial Sidney Crosby injury update

Sidney Crosby missed his first game in more than two years Friday but made a positive step toward dressing for next week's 4 Nations Face-Off.

An upper-body ailment kept him out of a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, but Crosby skated Friday morning, an "encouraging" development in the eyes of head coach Mike Sullivan.

Before Friday, Crosby skated a career-high 229 in a row. Crosby's status is day-to-day. The Flyers loom in Philadelphia on Saturday, a weekend game for the Penguins before a break for The 4 Nations tourney for the NHL.

Crosby will be captain for Team Canada, but availability for the opening faceoff against Sweden at the Bell Centre in Montreal is uncertain. The 4 Nations tourney is significant to Crosby, one of Canada's all-time greats at internationals.

Crosby's gold-minting "golden goal" at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and Canadian victories at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and 2016 World Cup of Hockey, for which Crosby was awarded Most Outstanding Player, are high on Canada's international lore.

Now 37, Crosby's career with Canada may soon have a closing chapter at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, for which Crosby will captain Canada and may make a farewell by dressing for Canada with a maple leaf jersey overseas.

The tournament gets underway in just a few days in Montreal, before ending off in Boston, and all eyes will be on Crosby's health.z