Did Sidney Crosby deserve penalty for hitting Braden Holtby?

Watch as Sidney Crosby catches Braden Holtby with his shoulder behind the net and Holtby responds with a chop to the back of the leg.

Early in the opening period of Wednesday’s Pittsburgh-Washington game, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby bowled over Capitals netminder Braden Holtby.

As the video at the top of the page shows, Crosby made an effort to block a Holtby clearing attempt behind the Capitals’ net during a Penguins power play. Crosby’s shoulder made contact with Holtby’s head and the 2016 Vezina winner went down.

Holtby was upset and gave Crosby a whack on the legs later in the shift.

NBC Sports colour commentator Pierre McGuire suggested on the broadcast that Crosby appeared annoyed at the way Holtby went down and felt there might have been some embellishment.

Ultimately there was no call on the play and Kris Letang ended up scoring a power-play marker a minute later.

So we ask you…

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