Trouba rocks Crosby with stiff head shot, injures the Pens captain; Player Safety likely to respond

Unfortunately for the Pens, the game isn't all they lost, as captain Sidney Crosby took a hit to the head from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba in the second period and was forced to leave the game.

The play occurred with less than 7 minutes remaining in the second period, so there was some pause as to whether or not to be concerned, given the fact that Crosby had popped back up and skated to the bench right after the hit. When he did not return for the third period, it became abundantly clear that the injury was more serious than it had appeared.

Given Crosby's history of head injuries, the Pens were certainly not willing to take any chances by putting Crosby back into the game without allowing Sid some time to undergo further testing an evaluation.

Obviously, the primary concern is for the health of Crosby. The secondary concern is that it's a significant loss to the Pens' lineup and if Crosby is out long-term, that could spell disaster for their current playoff series and whoever they may get next if they can persevere and close out the series with the Rangers on Friday.

I'd imagine that Player Safety will confirm whether or not Trouba will have a hearing sometime on Thursday morning. Ugly hit.