Two days after receiving the first embellishment penalty of his 21-season career, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby finally addressed the incident involving Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway that has the hockey world divided.
The play occurred late in the first period of Game 3. As the teams lined up for a faceoff, Hathaway’s stick made contact with Crosby’s face, sending the captain to the ice. In a move that stunned the Penguins’ bench, officials assessed Hathaway a minor for high-sticking but hit Crosby with a matching minor for embellishment.
Garnet Hathaway gets 2 for a high stick on Crosby... then Sid gets called for embellishment and joins him in the box.
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 22, 2026
Thoughts on the call? pic.twitter.com/o8SW0k06df
The "tradeoff" Crosby referred to was the tactical advantage for Philadelphia: the Flyers effectively traded two minutes of a fourth-line winger (Hathaway) to keep the NHL's most dangerous playoff performer off the ice during a critical stretch.
“Sidney Crosby doesn’t have an embellishment in 21 seasons,” Muse blasted. “Stick in his face, they take both of them. I disagree on that strongly. We didn’t come into this series to start [embellishing] now. Sid doesn’t embellish.”
Prior to Wednesday night, Sidney Crosby had played 1,420 regular-season games and 183 playoff games without a single embellishment penalty.
The Penguins will look to keep their season alive when Game 4 takes place in Philly on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.