Even Sidney Crosby can have a bad day at the office.
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain lost his cool mid-way through the third period of Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Kings, and was promptly ejected from the game. It was the first game misconduct of his 18-year career, according to Sportsnet Stats.
Crosby was upset after he was knocked to the ice by Kings defenceman Mikey Anderson while the two battled for position in front of the L.A. net. After officials declined to call Anderson for a penalty, Crosby lost his top. He began shoving Anderson — earning a 10-minute misconduct — then had his punishment upgraded to a game misconduct after he hurled a number of insults toward the officials.
As Crosby left the ice, Kings fans happily sent him off with a rendition of Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye."
The game marked just the fifth time Crosby had earned at least 10 minutes worth of penalties in his career, which has spanned 1,160 career games. His career-high is 21 PIMs, collected in a Jan. 3, 2009 game against the Florida Panthers in which he collected an instigator penalty on this fight with Brett McLean.
The Kings won the game 6-0 and Crosby will now have two days to cool off in sunny California before the Penguins conclude this part of their road trip Tuesday in San Jose.
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