On Sunday night, Sidney Crosby reminded us that hockey fans don’t hate him strictly because he is a great player. He also has a tendency to try and get away with cheap shots, and he’s often successful. During Game 6 against the New York Rangers, Crosby speared Dominic Moore in the nuts.
The incident occurred toward the end of the second period when Crosby and Moore got tangled up near the net. Moore appeared to grab Crosby’s stick, and Crosby reacted by jerking the stick upward (too vivid?) between Moore’s legs. A scrum then broke out when Moore tried to confront Crosby. As Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was skating off the ice, he squirted Crosby in the face with his water bottle.
Spearing a player below the belt typically results in a fine from the NHL. So does squirting an opponent with water, as we learned over the weekend when Shawn Thornton did it to PK Subban. Crosby and Lundqvist will likely both be fined, but the spear isn’t the only play the NHL will have to look at involving Crosby.
Crosby’s not going to be suspended for Game 7 at home, but it will look really bad if the league doesn’t do anything. You could easily argue that the slew foot on Dan Girardi was worse than the low blow on Moore.
GIFs via The Pensblog, @PeteBlackburn, @myregularface
