The Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves on the brink of elimination after a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3, falling behind 0-3 in their first-round series.
Although the Penguins took an early lead, Philadelphia built momentum through physical play and special teams, capitalizing twice on the man advantage while never surrendering the lead once they got it back at the 9:06 mark of the second period.
Amid the loss, attention shifted to a first-period sequence involving Sidney Crosby that quickly became a focal point during and after the game for its uniqueness.
Crosby was inadvertently struck in the face by a high stick from Garnet Hathaway while preparing for a faceoff. Officials initially assessed Hathaway a minor penalty, but after a discussion, Crosby was also given a minor for embellishment, resulting in coincidental penalties.
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The call marked the first embellishment penalty of Crosby’s 21-year NHL career and left him in disbelief.
After the game, Crosby addressed the decision and other officiating calls during the Game 3 loss to the Flyers.
“I don’t know how (Bryan Rust) ends up with the extra [penalty] out of all of that. I don’t know how I end up with embellishment. It’s hard to understand, but you gotta play through that,” Crosby said.
The Penguins were also frustrated with a second-period scrum that resulted in multiple penalties, including an extra minor to Bryan Rust, which led to a Flyers power play goal and was discussed by Crosby in his postgame remarks.
Head coach Dan Muse echoed Crosby’s reaction, focusing specifically on the embellishment call.
“We don’t have a single embellishment all year. Sidney Crosby doesn’t have an embellishment in 21 seasons. Stick in his face, they take both of them. I disagree on that strongly,” Muse said.
Added Muse: “We didn't come into this series to start [embellishing] now. Sid doesn't embellish.”
Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday in Philadelphia, with Pittsburgh facing elimination and puck drop set for 8 p.m. ET.
