Sidney Crosby wants clarification from the NHL on hitting

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby wants some clarification from the NHL and a lot of people will likely agree with what he's talking about. Following Tuesday night's game between the Penguins and the Boston Bruins, Crosby's teammate Brandon Tanev was booted out of the game after a hit that knocked out Jarred Tinordi. Many, including Crosby, feel the hit was clean and the penalty was based more on the outcome of the hit rather than whether the hit was legal.

"I don't think he had any intent there," Crosby said via video conference. "I hope Tinordi's OK. He went in pretty awkward. But I don't think there was any intent. I thought he hit him clean. He hit him timely as far as the puck being there. (Tinordi) did go in awkwardly, so you never like to see that. But I didn't think it warranted a five-minute (major penalty).

"I hope as players we get some clarity on what's a good hit and what's not," Crosby said. "It's tough to really gauge when you're out there. I know it's fast, but right now, it's really hard to know what is in fact clean and what's not. And when you're out there playing, it's important that you do know that."

Whether you like Crosby or not, he's not wrong in this case. There appears to be a lot of confusion from players lately over what they are and aren't allowed to do as everything seems to get called on a case-by-case basis.

"If they're going to err on the side of protecting us, I don't think I'm ever going to argue that as a player,» Crosby continued. "Especially with Tinordi being hurt and seeing him go in awkwardly. I get it. It's just understanding that. You see some hits throughout the league, especially in the first half of the season here, it's hard as a player to know. We look at a hit and think, 'Oh, that's a suspension,' and it's not. Or we think it's a penalty and it's not. Then you see a hit like (Tanev's), you don't expect a five-minute major and it ends up being one."

"I think it seems like it's a little gray right now."

Source: Tribune Live

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