Naturally, Pittsburgh’s captain assisted in a huge goal to help the team get a significant point in the standings, but
the Penguins-Maple Leafs game on Monday ended in a somewhat Sid Vicious fashion in the second period.
Jake McCabe initially drove Sidney Crosby into Ilya Samsonov’s right post, dislodging the net before he and the Leafs
defenseman collided with the boards. Crosby stood up, leaning on his leg, and McCabe went to the box.
After catching his breath and adjusting his broken left skate blade, Crosby entered the game late and participated in
the subsequent power play, during which he seemed to be struck in the face by Bobby McMann’s stick as the Leaf
attempted a high rebound. However, the video review cleared McMann, demonstrating that the puck—not the
lumber—caused the damage. McMann high-sticked the puck into Crosby’s face, according to the video review.
It’s a strange play, Crosby added. “I guess it didn’t catch my eye, but it felt like it did.”
After getting cleaned up once more at the bench, Auston Matthews unintentionally backed into Crosby, causing him
to get spooked. After the impact, when the stars gradually got back on their feet, they briefly glimpsed stars.
“Perhaps I ought to have slept through that final shift and prepared for the third (period).”
Due to his skate problem, Crosby was benched at the beginning of overtime, and McCabe went on to score the game-
winning 3-2.
