The Pittsburgh Penguins are headed toward the cellar of the NHL this year. And things did not get better for the team on Friday night. Pittsburgh lost at home to the Winnipeg Jets by the score of 4-1. However, fans were treated to quite the spectacle. Penguins star Sidney Crosby got into a fight with Jets star Kyle Connor early in the third period.
It’s a rarity for Crosby to drop the gloves with anyone. While his most recent fight came last season, he only had nine fights in his 20-year career entering play on Friday, according to HockeyFights.com. After the game, Penguins forward Michael Bunting spoke of his team’s reaction to seeing their captain decide to throw haymakers.
“I think he definitely motivated the whole bench,” Bunting said, via the team’s official website. “I think that was the best period of the night, was that third. We played with energy. We played fast and straightforward. So, you never want to see Sid fight, obviously. But he definitely brought the energy for us, and that’s the leader he is.”
Kyle Connor, Jets claim victory over Sidney Crosby, Penguins
The Penguins still had a hockey game to win on Friday night. However, the Jets skated away with a huge win over Sidney Crosby and his crew. Winnipeg rode a big two-goal second period to create insurance on the scoreboard. And Kyle Connor sealed the deal with an empty net goal following his fight with the Pittsburgh captain. Michael Bunting scored the only goal for Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena on Friday.
The Penguins have now lost seven of their last 10 games. Pittsburgh is in free fall and is likely staring down the barrel of a rebuild. The Penguins already traded Lars Eller, and a number of Penguins players could follow him out the door as the season goes along.
“I think it’s obviously frustrating whenever you lose. We can take some positives. They’re a really good team for a reason,” defenseman Matt Grzelcyk said of Pittsburgh’s loss, via the team’s official website. “We responded pretty well. But we just gave them too much time there in the second period to operate.”
The Penguins are looking at some rough days ahead. And it will certainly be interesting to see how this team responds as the games get more competitive down the line. Pittsburgh is in action once again on Saturday when they continue a homestand against the Utah Hockey Club.
The post Penguins’ Michael Bunting sheds light on Sidney Crosby fight vs. Jets appeared first on ClutchPoints.
