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The Philadelphia Flyers earned a pretty useful 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 on Wednesday night to take a 3-0 lead in the series, but there was plenty to talk about, including the first highlight reel penalty of Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby’s career.
…No, you read that correctly.
Coming into the game, Crosby had played 21 seasons in the NHL and had never been given the game to embellish it, until a strange 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 penalty for beautification. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Flyers forward (and top-notch agitator, it must be said) Garnet Hathaway skated between Crosby and the linesman before a faceoff in the Flyers’ defensive zone and was, shall we say, “careless” with his wood.
There was no doubt it hit the Pens captain in the face, but there was also no doubt it wasn’t strong enough to send Crosby to the ice when a sniper had fired from the rafters.
Both were sent to the area and the game continued in 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.
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“I don’t know how Rusty ends up with the extra money. [penalty] “Out of all that, I don’t know how I end up with the embellishment,” he said. “It’s hard to understand, but you have to get over it.”
I mean… you sold it a little, Sid.
Now about the Rust situation? The Flyers were lucky.
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Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the New York Rangers in 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 diving that’s been talked about most since the days of Greg Louganis. During the broadcast, it was revealed that this was Crosby’s first penalty for embellishment. Luckily, I wasn’t drinking anything when I heard this because I would have choked.
For 21 of my 30 years on this glorious space marble we call Earth, Sidney Crosby has tormented me, and much of that is due to his penchant for diving and complaining.
Now, it’s over that, but it was so well known that f
Former Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher alluded to his old habits during the TNT broadcast of Game 3.
Hell, I remember reading former NHL referee Kerry Fraser’s book about this habit.
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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby talks to a linesman during game three against the Philadelphia Flyers. (© Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)
And yet, this was the first time?!
Incredible.
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While the Penguins weren’t happy with the officiating, and I think they had a pretty legitimate case about that Rust incident, they can’t dwell on these things while losing 3-0.
The Flyers have been the stronger team throughout the series, which is why they have their cross-state rivals on the ropes heading into Game 4 on Saturday night in Philadelphia.
