Philadelphia Flyers fans love to hate Sidney Crosby.
And with the Pittsburgh Penguins captain in Philadelphia for a playoff game for the first time since 2018, they were prepared.
They booed whenever Crosby touched the puck on Wednesday, April 22, and booed when he picked up his first point of the series (getting an assist on Evgeni Malkin‘s goal as the Penguins ended their power play drought) for a 1-0 lead in the first period.
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But the boos got louder at 18:47 of the first period. Crosby was lining up for a faceoff when Philadelphia’s Garnet Hathaway caught him in the face with a high stick. Crosby dropped to the ice.
Hathaway made the diving gesture and yelled at Crosby before being led to the penalty box as fans booed. On-ice officials consulted and the Penguins star was eventually called for embellishment.
The fans’ boos turned to cheers.
TNT said it was the first time Crosby had been called for embellishment in his career.
The teams played 4-on-4 for the rest of the period and the start of the second period.
Crosby was called for two penalties in the Penguins’ Game 1 loss in Pittsburgh, including a retaliatory slash that took him off the ice in the final minutes.
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Flyers, Penguins penalty boxes fill up
It was standing room only in the penalty boxes in the second period when a scrum broke out, leading to 11 penalties being handed out. Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust received a double minor for roughing, leading to a Flyers’ power play.
Trevor Zegras scored with the man advantage to tie the game 1-1. It was the Flyers’ first power play goal of the series. Porter Martone, the 19-year-old Flyers standout, picked up an assist.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sidney Crosby called for embellishment after being high-sticked
