Pens' Crosby misses game because of injury

His status for Friday's game with the Islanders is uncertain.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITSTBRUGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby missed Wednesday night's game against Boston because of a sore groin.
Crosby was hurt during a 5-3 victory in Philadelphia on Monday night. He was optimistic on Tuesday that he would be ready to play against the Bruins, but during the pre-game morning skate coach Michel Therrien decided that Crosby wouldn't play.
The 19-year-old center's status is uncertain for games Friday at the New York Islanders and Saturday at home against the New York Rangers.
Crosby is fourth in the NHL in scoring with 10 goals and 20 assists in 19 games. He is the leading vote-getter among Eastern Conference players in fan balloting for the All-Star game in January.
Crosby has missed only one other game to injury during his two-season career. He played in 81 of the team's 82 games last season.
Maple Leafs
TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs have picked up the one-year option for 2007-2008 on general manager John Ferguson's contract.
Ferguson, 39, is in his fourth season as Leafs GM. The team had the second-best points total in the Eastern Conference going into its road game against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night.
"We are excited about the direction the Leafs have taken, on and off the ice, under the leadership of John Ferguson," Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, said in a news release Wednesday.
Since Ferguson was hired on Aug. 29, 2003, the Leafs had 98 wins, 63 losses, 10 ties and 15 overtime/shootout losses. His .594 winning percentage is the highest of the 12 GMs in Maple Leafs history.
Decisions last summer to buy out Ed Belfour and Tie Domi, trade for Andrew Raycroft and sign free agents Mike Peca, Hal Gill and Pavel Kubina have paid off.
Sharks
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks placed right wing Jonathan Cheechoo on injured reserve Wednesday and recalled top prospect Joe Pavelski to replace the NHL's top goal scorer last season.
Cheechoo, who won the Maurice Richard Trophy with a franchise-record 56 goals, has missed two games with a left leg injury incurred last week when Colorado's Karlis Skrastins fell on top of him during a goal-mouth scramble.
The move is retroactive to Nov. 16, and Cheechoo must sit out seven days before returning.
Cheechoo has scored seven goals in 20 games this season, including just two in his last 11 outings -- perhaps because his pairing with MVP Joe Thornton has been broken up several times this season. Although the Sharks were third in the NHL with 30 points entering Wednesday night's games, coach Ron Wilson repeatedly has shuffled his lines to try new combinations.
Pavelski, a fast-rising former seventh-round draft pick, helped lead Wisconsin to the NCAA title last season, then nearly made San Jose's roster in training camp.
The 22-year-old center has been outstanding in his first professional season with the AHL's Worcester Sharks, leading all rookies with 26 points, including eight goals.
Flyers
VOORHEES, N.J. -- Peter Forsberg still can't find a skate that fits well enough to accommodate his surgically repaired right ankle and, until that happens, the Philadelphia Flyers captain says he can't be totally effective.
After 21 games, Forsberg has just six goals and seven assists, well behind his totals (eight goals and 30 assists) at this point last season. He missed Tuesday's practice with a sore lower back, partly due to a hit suffered in Monday's game against Pittsburgh and partly because of the problem with his right foot.
Forsberg's ineffectiveness is one reason for the Flyers' mediocre (5-14-2) start.
"I hope it gets resolved," Forsberg said. "I have to believe it's going to get resolved. But it's been a long way."
Forsberg visited a clinic in Cleveland last week to be fitted for a new brace. It showed some promise at first but now his ankle is still rolling in the skate, similar to the problem he faced before undergoing surgery in May.
The team medical staff believes the ankle's condition led to Forsberg's being in a vulnerable position against the Penguins.
"The ankle kind of went out on him," head trainer Jim McCrossin said. "He went into the boards and he got hit. I would say it's indirectly related."
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