Sidney Crosby flips Deslauriers upside-down: clipping or not? (Video)

Nicolas Deslauriers went in to hit Sidney Crosby near the benches in the first period of Sunday's matinee. The hit did not go as Deslauriers way.

Sid saw Deslauriers coming the whole way. In preparation for the hit, he crouched down as Deslauriers made contact. The result was the Buffalo Sabres player going head over heels and landing on the ice.

There was no penalty on the play. Deslauriers was not hurt and the game continued.

The uproar among those watching called for a clipping penalty against Crosby, and using his star status as a justification for there not being one.

Many offered up the three game suspension given to Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand in December for his hit on Borowiecki that was deemed clipping as a comparison. Like Deslauriers, Borowiecki was flipped over on a low hit.

Clipping is defined as the following:

The difference between Crosby's hit and Marchand's is the player's use of his body.

Marchand skated out of his way to crouch and hit Borowiecki at the knees. Sid crouched down to avoid the check. Crosby did not, as the rule explicitly states, throw his body at Deslauriers.

This is not going to result in any supplemental discipline from DoPS, and it's not because Sid is a star. He didn't break any rules.

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

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