Sidney Crosby won't stop batting in goals out of midair
Sidney Crosby, part time NHL star and part time hand-eye coordination professor, batted yet another goal home out of the air to secure a Penguins win in OT over the Devils on Thursday.
His latest sorcery:
SIDNEY CROSBY WITH THE INCREDIBLE OVERTIME WINNER, BATTED HOME TO END IT! GORGEOUS! PENGUINS WIN! pic.twitter.com/9ewENnbTjX
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) March 30, 2018
Leading a 2-on-1 with Bryan Rust, Crosby ripped down the left wing and fired a shot off the post before reaching back across his body and batting it out of the air for the winner.
As you would expect from Crosby, he played it down after the game by giving the most boring — yet honest — assessment of a truly ridiculous play: “I just tried to stay with it. It’s fortunate it came back to me. I saw it go off post.”
What makes this even more Crosbyish is that not long before his ultimate winner, the Penguins captain took a solid jab in the ribs from the butt end of Travis Zajac’s stick.
zajac butt-ends crosby pic.twitter.com/GxSbrB6iSK
— ego (@EvgeniMaIkinEgo) March 30, 2018
You know that saying “Don’t poke the bear?” Yeah. Crosby is the last player in the world you’d want to give any extra motivation. And apparently that’s exactly what Zajac did.
Hornqvist on Crosby taking a stick from Zajac late: "I don’t know what happened, but he was fired up after that and he got us the win."
— Sam Werner (@SWernerPG) March 30, 2018
The amount of times this one dude has whacked the puck out of midair for a tally is utterly ridiculous. Just over a week ago, Crosby juggled his way to a mind-blowing marker against the Canadiens.
It’ll never get old, at least for fans who don’t have a blood lust for the guy. And definitely not for his teammates and coaches.
“I’ve seen him do it so many times, it doesn’t surprise us anymore,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told reporters. “He’s an elite player. There aren’t too many (making) guys those types of plays. He does it time and time again. He thinks the game on such a high level and he’s such a competitor.”
“You don’t expect him to score that one after it hits the post, and he does. It kind of leaves you in awe. We see it a lot. Every time he does it and every time he does something special, it’s crazy to see,” said defenseman Brian Dumoulin.
And just or your viewing pleasure, here’s a few more of his absurd swat-style goals:
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Throw up a prayer for whoever draws the Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.