Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has done quite a bit in his 18-year NHL career. Still, on Saturday, he broke new ground, picking up his first career game misconduct penalty.
The incident started when Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson cross-checking Crosby in the goal crease. Anderson was given a minor penalty on the play. As he was being escorted off the ice, the two came together to exchange words and a shove or two. Both players were issued matching 10-minute misconduct penalties.
Crosby voiced his frustration to the officials.
“That’s ****ing bull****,” Crosby can been seen saying to referee Garrett Rank twice.
After another warning, the ref tacked on an additional call.
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“Pittsburgh number 87 has an additional game misconduct,” Rank announced, sparking the Kings’ fans to serenade the Pens’ captain with the refrain from ‘Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye’.
Crosby was confused by the call.
“[Anderson] was saying something to me on the way to the box. Him and I had an exchange,” Crosby said according to The Athletic’s Josh Yohe. “The next thing I know, someone was telling me I got a 10[-minute misconduct]. To be honest with you, I don’t know.”
“I could tell [Anderson] was saying something. I don’t know what he was saying because we were pretty far from each other. I got closer and that happens often in a lot of scrums,” Crosby said. “Honestly, I was shocked that I was getting kicked out of the game. I had no idea.”
When pressed further, Crosby declined to weigh in.
“I mean, can I really say what I think anyway? Let’s be honest here,” he said, tactfully avoiding a possible fine.
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan was also in the dark, receiving no details on the reason for Crosby’s ejection.
“I don’t think Garrett had any interest in giving us an explanation,” Sullivan said.
Crosby’s 20 penalty minutes in the game were one short of his career high. He racked up 21 PIMs against the Panthers in 2009, in a game that saw him drop the gloves to fight Florida’s Brett MacLean.
The Kings went on to shut out the Penguins 6-0. Referees for the game were Garrett Rank (#7) and Kendrick Nicholson (#30); linesmen were Caleb Apperson (#77) and Kiel Murchison (#79).
