NHL Network's Mike Johnson: 'Sid's Not An Angel Out There'
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - Sidney Crosby scored possibly the most impressive goal of his career against the Buffalo Sabres and also had a moment of some controversy and the NHL Network's Mike Johnson joined The Starkey and Mueller Show to discuss both of them.
Looking at Crosby's one-handed, backhanded goal, Johnson told us there were Montreal Canadiens players trying to replicate it today at practice.
"I'm still recovering after the Crosby goal last night, holy smokes!" Johnson said. "To get a sense of how much that resonated, the Montreal Canadiens stepped on the ice this morning, boys, and Alex Radulov and Steve Ott, first thing they did, went to one end and started trying to shoot one-handed backhands. That's NHLer's trying to replicate what Crosby did in the middle of a game last night for a goal and they weren't nearly as successful today trying it in practice."
Looking at another Crosby moment from last game, the guys asked Johnson what he made of Crosby's "cup check" on Ryan O'Reilly.
"It should have been a penalty, yes" Johnson said. "Sid's not an angel out there. He plays hard and he gets chippy when he gets involved in the game and he uses his stick and he can be physical and he can chirp a little bit. He's a great player, maybe the greatest player, but he's also emotional and that was a weak move by Crosby last night on O'Reilly."
That play barely even registers though when you see the vicious hit Rasmus Ristolainen put on Jake Guentzel and Johnson had a strong take on that.
When asked if it was suspension worthy, Johnson said, "Oh gosh, yes. That is a no-brainer suspension," and added that "I don't want to hear any kind of excuse or explanation from Ristolainen and the Sabres that he was committed to the hit and couldn't stop. He could have stopped. His eyes were right on Guentzel, he knew exactly that, he did not have the puck yet and he could have bailed on it."
Click the link below to hear our full interview with Johnson where he also discusses the MVP race and where he thinks Crosby stands.
