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Sidney Crosby's response to Radko Gudas hit sets tone for Penguins, Team Canada
Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Sidney Crosby waved off the Radko Gudas hit, but the Pittsburgh Penguins and Team Canada still pay the price.
Crosby's quote is pure captain, no drama, no grudge, just "that stuff happens." It also lands differently when you know he is now out at least four weeks.
The play came Wednesday at the Olympics, Canada vs Czechia in the quarterfinal. The result was a 4-3 overtime win, but Crosby did not finish it.
On the hit, he basically told Gudas to keep his phone in his pocket. No reach-out needed, no apology tour.
That matters, because the clip is already getting chopped up into outrage bait. Crosby just refused to feed it.
Here's the post that captured the full quote:
"I didn't have a problem with the play. He was trying to be physical and step up. Play hard as any defenseman would. It went the wrong way as far as my end of it. I don't think he should feel the need to reach out or anything like that. It's hockey and that stuff happens.
Unfortunately, it's one of those things."
- Sidney Crosby
Unfortunately, it's one of those things."
- Sidney Crosby
The Penguins side is simple: losing your 27-32-59 engine changes everything. Pittsburgh is 29-15-12, and the margin in the Metro is tight.
The Canada side hurts too, because the tournament turned into survival hockey fast. Crosby missed the gold medal game, and Canada fell to the United States in overtime.
Sidney Crosby steadies the Pittsburgh Penguins and Team Canada
Penguins fans feel that familiar mix, proud of the leadership, sick over the timing, and a little angry at the hockey gods.
Crosby calling it a hockey play is not softness. It's standards.
He is protecting the game, but he is also protecting the room. Nobody gets to turn this into a distraction.
Now the Penguins have to manufacture offense without the automatic top-six matchups he wins every night.
For Canada, that same calm is the legacy piece. He did not demand blood, he demanded next shift from his teammates.
If he's back in late March, the Penguins' stretch run gets its heartbeat back. Until then, it's survive, bank points, and keep the blue line clean.
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