Columbus Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky did his best to make the Pittsburgh Penguins unhappy. Dubinsky's dirty cross check of Sidney Crosby caused the Pittsburgh center to leave the game briefly late in the second period. He then set up Cam Atkinson for the overtime winner in a 2-1 victory at Nationwide Arena.
Atkinson one-timed a pass from Dubinsky past Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for his sixth goal of the season with 2:18 remaining to give Columbus a victory in its first overtime game of the season. Atkinson started the play in the defensive end after Crosby lost the puck. He passed ahead to Jack Johnson, who found Dubinsky deep in the Pittsburgh zone. Dubinsky circled to the right side of the goal, put on the brakes and found Atkinson between the circles with his stick in shooting position. Dubinsky found the Blue Jackets' first foray into the new 3-on-3 overtime to be interesting. The Penguins lost for the first time in five overtime games.
Evgeni Malkin gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 9:15 into the third period. Ryan Johansen tied it at 11:57. Fleury made 41 saves for Pittsburgh and Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 25 saves for the Blue Jackets.
Second-year Penguins coach Mike Johnston watched the 2014 Pittsburgh-Columbus series from afar and got an understanding of what it's like when the Metropolitan Division opponents play. Pittsburgh went ahead when Malkin scored on the Penguins' fourth power play. Bobrovsky stopped Malkin's initial shot from the lower right circle and Crosby's rebound attempt was blocked. But Malkin picked up the puck and fired it past Bobrovsky as three Blue Jackets players went to the ice for his ninth goal of the season. Crosby got the assist, giving him three goals and two assists in four games.
Johansen's fifth goal with 8:03 left in third came on a rebound of Pittsburgh native Brandon Saad's shot. The goal stood after a challenge by Johnston that Columbus forward Scott Hartnell had interfered with Fleury by slashing him. It was typical of the physical nature of the game.
Sidney Crosby: "I'm OK. There's always concern when it happens. Honestly, I haven't seen it so I don't know how it looked. I know how it felt. I don't know if the official saw it or not."
Marc-Andre Fleury: "[Hartnell] hits my leg. I slipped on my push. I thought it would be enough."
Mike Johnston: "I thought at that time it was a legitimate rivalry. Every game we play them, whether it's exhibition games, they're all intense battles. It's nice to see the intensity, the passion of the rivalry."
Patric Hornqvist: "This is why you play. I like the intense games. I like the scrums after the whistle as long as they're fair. Both teams did a good job. It was a fun game. Too bad we didn't get the win."
Dubinsky sent Crosby to the ice and then the dressing room with a dirty cheap shot cross check to the back of the neck before following up with another hit that broke his stick across Crosby's back, at 18:40 of the second period. Dubinsky received a minor penalty and Crosby returned for the start of the third period. Dubinsky and Crosby have had a long-running feud and battled ferociously in the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Dubinsky said battling Crosby was merely part of his job.
"There's no secret. I try to play him as hard as I can. That being said, I don't do anything dirty. I felt my stick ride up his back a little bit. He was kind of bent over in front but that's not the type of player I am. I'm going to try and play hard but play fair and between the whistles."
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25392118/watch-brandon-dubinsky-breaks-stick-over-sidney-crosby-with-cross-checks
It's amazing how many players, once caught doing a misdemeanour, turn around and say 'it's not the kind of thing I do' really? yet you have still done it anyway. A horrible dirty hit like that could have broken someone's neck, but that's ok because Dubinsky isn't that type of player? I am pretty sure Josef Stalin was a perfectly reasonable and well-rounded human being and his human rights policy was exemplary too wasn't it?'
The league quickly handed him a one game suspension, which should have been for longer. What he did was far worse than what Raffi Torres did in pre-season, and he got a half-season suspension for his troubles.
Columbus coach John Tortorella had a lot to say for himself post game: "I liked the way we handled ourselves when they scored. We didn't score. We had a power play, it wasn't good, but we kept on playing and got the goal."
http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/896006
He also accused Pittsburgh of whining. By whining I assume he must mean it's totally unacceptable for Pittsburgh to be upset over their star player nearly being paralysed. I'm sorry John, should every Pittsburgh fan take turns in sucking Dubinsky's cock as way of a thank you instead?
Maybe it's that poor excuse of a beard you have on your face that looks more a kin to a vagina covered in pubic hairs, that makes you come out with twatful comments? or maybe its the fact you insist on having your teams goon it up by starting games with line-brawls (think Rangers v Devils and then Canucks v Flames, when he actually tried to gain access to the Calgary room to attack them). Either way Torts is a 'Class A' Douche Bag, who should do the Hockey World a favour by never coaching in the league again.
Tortorella above. Dude's got a face like a pussy.
Evgeni Malkin was so angered by the dirty play from Columbus even he dropped the gloves with Jack Johnson, and of course it wouldn't be a Blue Jackets game without Scott Hartnell getting into a fight would it.
There has been talk when the two teams next meet Tortorella will resort to his party trick of starting the game with a line brawl 3 seconds in. I am sure his pre-game talk will look something like this:
Penalties
| 1st Period | ||
|---|---|---|
| 03:00 PIT | Ian Cole Hooking against Nick Foligno | |
| 11:48 CBJ | Justin Falk Tripping against Chris Kunitz | |
| 19:45 PIT | Evgeni Malkin Slashing against Kevin Connauton | |
| 2nd Period | ||
| 06:18 PIT | Evgeni Malkin Slashing against Jack Johnson | |
| 13:01 CBJ | Ryan Murray Roughing against Patric Hornqvist | |
| 18:40 PIT | Patric Hornqvist Unsportsmanlike conduct against Scott Hartnell | |
| 18:40 CBJ | Scott Hartnell Unsportsmanlike conduct against Patric Hornqvist | |
| 18:40 CBJ | Brandon Dubinsky Cross checking against Sidney Crosby | |
| 19:18 CBJ | Jack Johnson Fighting (maj) against Evgeni Malkin | |
| 19:18 PIT | Evgeni Malkin Fighting (maj) against Ryan Johansen | |
| 3rd Period | ||
| 06:10 PIT | Sergei Plotnikov Roughing against Kerby Rychel | |
| 06:10 CBJ | Kerby Rychel Hi-sticking against Sergei Plotnikov | |
| 08:12 CBJ | Ryan Murray Hooking against Pascal Dupuis | |
| 09:42 PIT | Chris Kunitz Roughing against Boone Jenner | |
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