Penguins center Sidney Crosby has been in the NHL for 18 years, but he did something on Saturday night that he has never done before as a professional.
In the third period of what would become a 6-0 loss to the Kings, Crosby was given a game misconduct penalty, resulting in an ejection from the for the first time in his career. Crosby and Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson were battling in front of the net, and Anderson cross-checked Crosby, which led to a Penguins power play.
As Anderson was skating to the penalty box, he and Crosby were jawing back and forth, an encounter which included Crosby’s shoving Anderson at one point. An official gave both players 10-minute misconducts, and as Crosby continued to argue his case toward the referees, he got an ejection
After the game, Crosby explained what was going through his mind during the series of events.
“The guy was saying something to me on the way to the box. Him and I had an exchange,” Crosby said, via The Athletic’s Josh Yohe. “The next thing I know, someone was telling me I got a 10. To be honest with you, I don’t know.”
The star forward added that he didn’t think his exchange with Anderson was worth an ejection.
“I could tell he was saying something,” Crosby said. “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.”
The loss means Pittsburgh is barely holding onto a playoff spot, just one point ahead of the Islanders for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
