Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been out since Dec. 6 with the same high ankle sprain that’s shelved Crosby. He was projected to be gone for 6-8 weeks as well, but as of right now there’s no timetable for Fleury’s return.

Even when he was playing, Fleury’s efforts were inconsistent and the Pens were criticized for not arming themselves with a more seasoned back-up netminder to play behind the youngster.

Veteran presence Gary Roberts is out with a broken fibula. Mark Eaton, the club’s top defensive defenseman, is done for the year following knee surgery.

That makes Crosby’s absence even more difficult to stomach for everyone involved.

Including, most of all, him.

“Especially with the adversity our team has,” Crosby said. “We have a lot of injuries right now and guys are battling through it."

There are other concerns beyond health for the Penguins.

Jordan Staal, a 29-goal scorer last season as a rookie, is the epitome of the sophomore jinx, with a meager five red lamps lit so far during the 2007-08 campaign.

There’s also talk that the team’s youth-based roster has grown weary of the ranting of coach Michel Therrien, who wore out his welcome quickly in Montreal, his only previous NHL stop.

Add Crosby to that list of woes and in a tight and hotly-contested Atlantic Division race, where teams go from first to last place in less than a week, the long-term absence of Crosby could prove to be the fatal blow for the Penguins.

“We'll see how fast I heal,” Crosby said.

At best, he’s likely looking at mid-March.

He’s not a grunt who goes up and down his wing, bangs into people and gets the puck to the people who should have it. Crosby is a high-end skill player in need of all of his faculties at 100 percent to make his magic, so expect him to come back somewhat closer to eight weeks than six.

By then, it might be too late for Pittsburgh’s postseason hopes.

Interactive Red Wings will repeat as Cup champs

A two-month long playoff odyssey without the game’s most exciting and marketable commodity?

It sounds like the title of one of those old movies that another Crosby with ties to Pittsburgh, Bing, used to star in alongside Bob Hope.

In this case, without Crosby, there’s no hope.

Only a road to ruin.

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