Sidney Crosby sparks reaction after Penguinsďż˝ painful elimination
While Cam York was launching his stick into the Pittsburgh crowd, Sidney Crosby was already skating to the other end of the ice to find Arturs Silovs.
The Penguins captain didn't go to his bench. He didn't go to the dressing room. He went straight to his rookie goaltender.
The 25-year-old Latvian had just watched the season-ending puck go over his glove in overtime.
Jimmy Murphy posted the moment in real time. Crosby was the first Pittsburgh player to console Silovs.
No production crew framing the shot. Just a captain doing what captains do.
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The 38-year-old finished this round with 5 points across 5 games. The face of the franchise had given everything he had to push this series back to Pittsburgh and still came up one win short.
He could have skated the other way. Most stars would. The losing handshake line is hard enough without going first to the kid wearing the worst loss of his young career.
Silovs played 2 games in this series. The 25-year-old goalie carried an .887 save percentage in the regular season.
He was thrown into a playoff round most veterans don't survive. Crosby made sure he didn't have to walk off alone.
What this says about Crosby with the franchise at a crossroads
The Penguins are now fully out of the 2026 playoffs.
The summer in Pittsburgh is going to be loud, with hard contract decisions and roster reshuffles waiting on every desk in the front office.
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Crosby is 38 and on the back end of his career.
He is also still the captain. Still the moral center of a team that has watched its window narrow every year since the last Cup.
Tonight he reminded a nation watching what made him the player he is.
A stick in the seats from the other team. A captain on his own team going straight to a kid in net.
The two images are going to live next to each other in highlight packages for years.
Crosby's contract runs through next season. His next move shapes everything. The way he walked off the ice tonight tells you he isn't done leading this room until somebody pries the C off his sweater.
The summer just started in Pittsburgh. The captain made sure it started the right way.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 30 | 681 ANSWERS Sidney Crosby sparks reaction after Penguins’ painful elimination Is Sidney Crosby still the best captain in the NHL ? | ||
| Yes | 538 | 79 % |
| No | 143 | 21 % |
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| Zach Benson | - | - | - | |
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| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | - | - | - | |
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