The Pittsburgh Penguins have been one of the best teams in the NHL since landing Sidney Crosby with the first overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. Since then, he has lived up to his potential and then some. It wasn’t easy for him early but he made it through. Now, he is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and a winner of multiple other individual awards.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were somewhat of a disappointment last year. Although they were a solid team, they missed the playoffs by one point. It was the first time since Crosby’s rookie year. With guys like Evgeni Malkin and Kristopher Letang still there in addition to some other great players, they expect more.
One of the big knocks on them last year, however, was their toughness. The Penguins really didn’t have much of that which was clearly a problem. They did address that so Crosby didn’t have to be one of the tough guys on the team as he was a year ago. He probably didn’t want to be that kind of superstar but the situation forced it at times. He’s an amazing captain that would do anything to win.
Although this has been somewhat addressed, as mentioned before, Crosby still has it in him to lead by example. That even means fighting someone who runs one of their other star players. There was an example of this on Friday night as the Penguins took on the Columbus Blue Jackets in preseason.
The Pittsburgh Penguins saw Sidney Crosby get into a little bit of a fight.
Peyton Krebs thought it would be a good idea to take a shot at Kristopher Letang. Crosby didn’t like it and came to the defense of his teammate. Yes, Sidney Crosby got into a preseason scrap. It was both glorious and a little scary at the same time.
Don’t hit Kris Letang otherwise Sidney Crosby will beat you up.
— Puck Prose (@Puck_Prose) October 7, 2023
Way to go SID!
pic.twitter.com/6QG6NwFdKz
Nobody wants Sidney to get hurt but everyone does love seeing him lead the way for his team. It was not something you’ll see every day but Crosby will always come to the aid of his teammates.
This was the first time that Crosby had taken part in a fight in four years. He is never afraid to mix it up and motivate his team (like he did a lot last year) but this was a full-blown fight. We’ll see how Crosby responds to this kind of stuff once the games count starting next week.
Crosby picked up two assists in the game as the Penguins beat the Sabres by a final score of 7-4. It was a great game and there were some fireworks. These two fan bases have to be so stoked that hockey is back.
In order to avoid injury, hopefully, this is the last time we see Crosby fight like that. At the same time, it will be amazing to see him grind his team back into the playoff mix this year.