PITTSBURGH — Nothing like an injured superstar to make tensions flare up. That was the case Monday night when Capitals coach Barry Trotz got into a little back-and-forth with Pittsburgh reporter Rob Rossi over the sequence that led to Sidney Crosby leaving the Capitals-Penguins game in the first period.
Trotz had just finished explaining that he thought defenseman Matt Niskanen’s cross-check that ended up catching Crosby in the head was “really a hockey play” because Crosby was falling down and Niskanen was already in position.
Rossi then asked Trotz about the contact Alex Ovechkin made with his stick that put Crosby off-balance in the first place.
“Barry is the play by Alex that led to Sid sort of staggering into Niskanen where he appeared to get the stick up toward his face — is that a hockey play?” Rossi asked.
Trotz’ answer: “Was there a penalty?”
“Does there have to be a penalty for it to be a hockey play? I’m just asking,” Rossi continued. “Is it a hockey play also?”
Trotz then expressed some displeasure with a few hits the Penguins had laid on the Capitals.
“I’m not going to defend anything,” Trotz said. “The sticks are … You want me to defend Alex? Then is Kunitz’ predatory hit on Oshie OK? Or the one on Backstrom? Is that OK? I’m not going to debate about all that stuff.”
Rossi: “So no?”
Trotz: “Next. You got your answer.”
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said that Crosby would be re-evaluated overnight. He didn’t have an update beyond saying that the team was hoping they wouldn’t be without Crosby for the rest of the series. Sullivan wouldn’t confirm if it was an upper or lower-body injury for Crosby. He also didn’t want to share his feelings on the hit, though you can probably guess what they are.
“At the end of the day it really doesn’t matter what either coach’s opinion is on it,” Sullivan said.
For his part, Niskanen said that he wasn’t going for Crosby’s head.
“Absolutely not. It wasn’t intentional,” Niskanen said. “I’ve seen the replay. In super slow-mo, it looks really bad. I caught him high. He’s coming across trying to score. As he’s doing that, he’s getting lower and lower, and when it’s happening that fast, you know, my stick and his head collided. I wasn’t extending trying to hit him in the head. It happened quickly.”
Niskanen said that, as he saw it, his stick was level with Crosby’s arm when the play began.
“Because he’s trying to make a play, he’s getting lower and lower because he’s getting pressured, trying to score, so the collision happened there.”
Crosby is a premier player in the NHL. He could be out for some time. Niskanen could face a hearing.
“Our management or whoever takes care of that will take care of that,” Niskanen said. “If they call, I’ll talk to them. I hope he’s OK. I certainly didn’t mean to injure him. It’s an unfortunate play that happened really quick.”
• Nora Princiotti can be reached at nprinciotti@washingtontimes.com.
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