Sidney Crosby thought he’d experienced everything in the National Hockey League, but at the age of 35 the Pittsburgh Penguins star was handed an unwanted first game misconduct.
The three-time Stanley Cup winner and two-time MVP is approaching 20 years in the NHL, but lost his cool on Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Penguins were 5-0 down in the third period against the Kings, when Crosby had an altercation with Mikey Anderson.
Crosby was cross-checked and reacted angrily, and after initially being handed a misconduct it was then upgraded to a game penalty as he left the ice. Crosby let the officials know exactly how he felt and departed the arena for an early shower, something he experienced for the first time.
The Penguins went on to lose 6-0 against the Kings, as nothing went right for them at Crypto.com Arena. The same stage where NBA legend LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time points record just days earlier, saw NHL great Crosby endure a very different type of evening.