Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby wants clarity from officials after teammate Brandon Tanev was ejected from Tuesday's contest against the Boston Bruins for boarding Jarred Tinordi.
"I hope as players we get some clarity on what's a good hit and what's not," Crosby said postgame, according to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "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 to know that."
During the second period, Tanev came from across the ice and hit Tinordi into the boards, leaving him injured. The play resulted in a five-minute major penalty.
Brandon Tanev given a major penalty and a game misconduct for this hit on Jarred Tinordi. Penalty upheld after review. Tanev livid with the call. pic.twitter.com/XwWUg51mHu
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) March 17, 2021
In the opening frame, Tinordi laid a similarly big hit on Evgeni Malkin that went uncalled by the referees, so it's no surprise Crosby wanted an explanation for Tanev's collision.
Jarred Tinordi with a big hit on Malkin — who heads down the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/SpUAHmsaaZ
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 16, 2021
For the record, both hits didn't necessarily warrant any penalties. Tanev's hit on Tinordi seemed more like an unfortunate situation than anything.
Boston went on to win the game 2-1 and now sits in fourth place, trailing the Penguins by three points in the East Division with two games in hand.
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