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The Pittsburgh Penguins staved off elimination for the second straight game with a clutch Game 5 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night, but the festivities were briefly halted when a brawl broke out over a controversial hit on Sidney Crosby after the final buzzer.
Flyers forward Travis Konecny found himself at the center of the scrum — and controversy — after he appeared to cross-check Sidney Crosby after the game ended, marking the second incident involving Konecny this series to draw criticism.
Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby collides with Philadelphia Flyers’ Travis Konecny during the first period of Game 2 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in Pittsburgh on April 20, 2026. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
A massive brawl broke out with Crosby and Konecny at the bottom of the pileup.
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Eventually, the players were separated, but fans on social media called out Konecny for his “dirty” play in the first-round series.
“No way was Konecny going to deliver one of the cheapest cross-checks on Crosby to end the game,” wrote one person on X.
Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers reacts after a Pittsburgh Penguins goal in the second period of Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 27, 2026. (Justin Berl/Getty Images)
“The examples are too many [to] count. But another example of the garage league @NHL @NHLPlayerSafety not protecting its stars and players,” another person added. “No one ever bought a ticket or lined up to see Travis Konecny. A fine or additional discipline should occur. But won’t.”
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The Athletic’s Josh Yohe even accused Konecny of hitting Crosby with “clear intent to injure.”
“It’s an ugly series and both teams have crossed lines. But no one has been cheaper/dirtier in this series than Konecny, whose postgame cross-check of Crosby was a clear intent to injure. Earlier in this series, Konecny tried to kick Rust. Very dirty player.”
The “kick” Yohe referred to occurred in Game 3.
Pittsburgh Penguins’ Bryan Rust battles with Philadelphia Flyers’ Travis Konecny during the second period of Game 3 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in Philadelphia on April 22, 2026. (Matt Slocum/AP)
Konecny appeared to kick Bryan Rust during an altercation, but he denied it and told reporters during his post-match presser that he did not remember any kick.
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Connor Dewar, Kris Letang and Elmer Soderblom scored and Crosby had two assists Monday night to cut the Flyers’ lead to 3-2 and force a Game 6 on Wednesday.
“I think it’s something we’ve been proud of all year. Throughout the season we’ve been in different situations and I think we’ve done a great job of dealing with adversity and again here we are facing more,” Crosby said after the win. “It’s not going to get easier, so we know it’s a big challenge going in there. But we have a lot of faith in our group, we’ve done it time and time again.”
