NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
The Philadelphia Flyers took a fairly comfortable 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Wednesday night’s Game 3 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead, but there was plenty to talk about, including the first career penalty shot of Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby.
…No, you read that right.
Entering the game, Crosby had played 21 NHL seasons and had never had the game decorated until a bizarre sequence between whistles.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby lies on the ice after catching a high stick from Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway. He was also given a lesser sentence for embellishment. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Flyers forward (and top-tier agitator, it must be said) Garnet Hathaway skated between Crosby and the linesman prior to a faceoff in the Flyers’ defensive zone and was, let’s just say, “careless” with his lumber.
There was no doubt that it caught the Pens’ captain in the face, but there was also no doubt that it wasn’t hard enough to send Crosby sprawling to the ice when a sniper had fired from the rafters.
Both were sent to the box and the game continued with 4-on-4.
After the game, Crosby offered his reaction to that incident and to another scrum involving teammate Bryan Rust a little later that resulted in a Flyers power play and a power play goal.
PANTHERS’ MATTHEW TKACHUK TALKS GAME 3 CHAOS: ‘IF YOU GOT TO TAKE A PUNCH IN THE FACE, TAKE IT’
“I don’t know how Rusty ends up with the extra [penalty] out of all that, I don’t know how I’ll end up with the decoration,” he said. “It’s hard to understand, but you have to play through it.”
I mean… you kind of sold it, Sid.
Now about the Rust situation? The Flyers made the luck.
NHL NEEDS TO GIVE US A FLYERS-PENGUINS GAME AT BEAVER STADIUM ASAP
Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the New York Rangers during game seven of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 15, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
But back to the most talked about dive since the days of Greg Lougani. During the broadcast, it was revealed that this was Crosby’s first ever penalty for embellishment. Luckily I wasn’t drinking when I heard this because I would have choked on it.
For 21 of my 30 years on this glorious marble of space we call Earth, I have been tormented by Sidney Crosby, and a large part of that was his penchant for diving and whining.
Now he has sort of grown out of it, but it was so well known that e.g
Former Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher alluded to his old ways during TNT’s Game 3 broadcast.
Hell, I remember reading in former NHL referee Kerry Fraser’s book about this habit.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby talks to a linesman during Game 3 against the Philadelphia Flyers, (© Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)
And yet it was the first time?!
Incredible.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Even if the Penguins weren’t happy with the officiating — and I think they had a pretty legitimate case for that Rust incident — they can’t get hung up on these things down 3-0.
The Flyers have been the more solid team throughout the series, which is why they have their cross-state rivals on their toes heading into Saturday night’s Game 4 in Philadelphia.
