Penguins' Crosby being evaluated for upper-body injury

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is being evaluated for an upper-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan announced Wednesday, according to NHL.com's Wes Crosby.

Sullivan didn't provide any specifics. Pittsburgh's next game is Friday against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Crosby exited Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils following a collision with opposing forward Erik Haula and defenseman Luke Hughes during the third period.

The Penguins' star center skated off holding his left arm and went down the tunnel to the dressing room, but he returned to the contest around 10 minutes later.

Crosby told reporters postgame that he "just got tangled up," but he was absent from Wednesday's practice.

The Penguins have been without veteran forward Evgeni Malkin for the last four games because of a lower-body ailment. He is considered week-to-week.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Sullivan said when asked about potentially playing without both Crosby and Malkin. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, obviously Sid is an important guy for us, he's a tough guy to replace. I'm stating the obvious there."

Crosby leads the Penguins with 58 points in 55 outings and ranks third on the team with 17 goals. He was tabbed as Canada's captain at next week's 4 Nations Face-Off last Thursday.

Pittsburgh entered Wednesday's action in seventh place of the Metropolitan Division with a 22-24-9 record and seven points out of a wild-card spot.

The Penguins have two games remaining on their schedule before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.