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The Pittsburgh Penguins avoided elimination for the second straight game with a key Game 5 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night, but the celebrations briefly stopped when a skirmish 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 check on Sidney Crosby after the game ended, marking the second incident involving Konecny in this series to draw criticism.
Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins collides with Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period of Game 2 in 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 end of the clash.
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The players were eventually separated, but fans on social media criticized Konecny for his “dirty” plays in the first-round series.
“No way Konecny would do one of the cheapest cross checks on Crosby to end the game,” one person wrote on X.
Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers reacts after a goal by the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period of game five in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 27, 2026. (Justin Berl/Getty Images)
“The examples are too numerous [to] count. But another example of @NHL garage league @NHLPlayerSafety not protecting their stars and players,” another person added. “No one has ever bought a ticket or tuned in to see Travis Konecny. A fine or additional disciplinary measure should be applied. But he won’t.”
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The Athletic’s Josh Yohe even accused Konecny of hitting Crosby with “clear intent to injure.”
“It’s a nasty series and both teams have crossed lines. But no one has been cheaper/dirtier in this series than Konecny, whose cross-checking of Crosby after the game ended was clearly intended to hurt. Early in this series, Konecny tried to kick Rust. Very dirty player.”
The “kick” Yohe referenced took place in Game 3.
Bryan Rust of the Pittsburgh Penguins battles with Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period of Game 3 in 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 postgame press conference that he did not remember any kicks.
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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 Game 6 on Wednesday.
“I think it’s something we pride ourselves on all year. Throughout the season we’ve been in different situations and I think we’ve done a great job handling adversity and again here we faced more,” Crosby said after the win. “It doesn’t get any easier, so we know it’s a big challenge to get there. But we have a lot of faith in our group, we’ve done it time and time again.”
