- Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux.
Their teams don't get along,
so they didn't get along,
and, sometimes that's all it takes.
(dramatic symphonic music)
Let's start with someone that everybody knows,
Sidney Crosby.
That's not a dig at Giroux, it's just that even people
who don't follow hockey know Crosby.
That's in part because he's very, very good,
but it's also because the NHL, arguably not great
at marketing players, decided to shine
the spotlight on Crosby from day one.
Before he was even drafted in 2005,
he was anointed "The Next One" by Wayne Gretzky.
His skills have been noteworthy since he was seven.
He was so good that growing up, opposing parents
threatened him from the stands
as their kids tried the same on the ice.
He was just great, and when the Penguins drafted him
first overall, they, along with the league,
didn't waste the opportunity in immediately
making him a household name.
That also meant that he'd immediately have a target
on his back anytime Pittsburgh shared the ice
with Philadelphia, and Crosby's first visit to Philly
made it clear what his future had in store.
That came in 2005, and Derian Hatcher
played the part of welcoming committee.
Hatcher found Crosby often,
and caught him above the shoulders multiple times,
eventually leaving the rookie on the ice
looking for a few teeth.
No penalty was called and Crosby was mad enough
that he ripped off the microphone he had been wearing
for the broadcast and went after Hatcher.
Naturally, the Philadelphia crowd loved this.
What they didn't love quite as much
was Crosby going on to score the game winner in overtime.
Between being very good and showing his emotions,
Crosby had quickly become a vessel
that Philly could funnel their hate into.
See, the Flyers and Penguins,
they've been linked since day one.
They entered the league together in the 1967 expansion.
They faced off in each team's first ever exhibition game.
When Philly opened the Spectrum, the Penguins were there,
but as both teams got settled into the league,
the Flyers pulled away pretty quickly.
In 1974, they became the first of the Next Six teams
to win the Stanley Cup, and did it again a year later.
Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, in between those cups,
the Penguins had to file for bankruptcy
as hockey's future in the Steel City looked uncertain.
Spoiler, things worked out.
It was just a tale of two starts.
And, when it came to the battle of Pennsylvania,
the Flyers owned it early,
including a nearly 15-year stretch
where the Penguins were winless in Philly.
Once that streak was snapped, a lot went down.
They met in the postseason for the first time in 1989,
and enjoyed it so much, they dragged game five out,
filling the final 30 seconds with brawls
that only delayed the Penguin's 10-7 victory.
But that first postseason meeting would
eventually be won by the Flyers.
A few years later, Mario Lemieux swung things
the Penguins' way and brought Pittsburgh
their first two Cups in 91 and 92.
Eric Lindros showed up in Philly
to balance things out for a bit,
and helped lead them to postseason wins over the Pens
in 97 and 2000.
The second of those included a game that set the record
for longest game played in the modern era
because of course!
These guys just can't get enough of each other.
And, all along the way, they fought,
and fought.
And, when realignment threatened to split them up,
they even fought together to make sure
they would be able to keep fighting in the same division.
So, given the history, it's been hard for even generational
talents to avoid getting caught up in the rivalry.
And, although getting under Crosby's skin
became more of a consolation prize considering the success
he and the Penguins found, a few years
after The Kid came along, it looked like
Philly had found a prize of their own.
Claude Giroux's road to the NHL
was far less paved than Crosby's.
He had been avoided in junior league drafts,
had to walk on just to play junior hockey in Ottawa,
but, as Giroux put the work in,
he began to transform as a player.
He made the CHL All-Rookie Team,
and went from unwanted to the 22nd overall pick
in the 2006 NHL draft.
By the 08-09 season, he was getting meaningful playing time
and impressed enough to be a full-time player a year later.
And that year, he scored the Flyer's most important goal
of the season, beating Henrik Lundqvist for the deciding
shootout score on the final day of the regular season,
which sent the Flyers to the postseason.
He kept it up from there and helped Philly
make it to the Stanley Cup final,
where they fell short against Chicago.
His level of play even made it possible for the Flyers
to trade Jeff Carter and Mike Richards,
which helped signal Giroux as the future of this team.
As Claude approached superstar status,
Crosby faced some tough years.
The Pens captain had to miss extended time
with long-lasting concussion symptoms,
including the bulk of the 2011-2012 season.
With a little more of the Pennsylvania spotlight
shining on Giroux, he had his best season yet.
He led the league in point scoring for most of the season,
and was a favorite for the Hart Trophy,
alongside new linemates Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr,
Giroux had the Flyers set up for another postseason run,
and, conveniently enough, Crosby was cleared to play
the final 22 games, as the Penguins jockeyed
with the Flyers in the standings.
So, on April 1st, 2012, when these teams met
with just four games remaining in the regular season,
there was a lot to play for,
potentially, home ice advantage
in a first round series between these two teams.
They matched each other through the first two periods,
but the Flyers opened it up in the third,
and Giroux made it 5-2 with under seven to play.
After the Pens closed the gap,
Philadelphia scored an empty netter to seal the win,
and a moment later, shit popped off.
Joe Vitale caught Daniel Briere on open ice,
and the teams met at the center logo.
As those on the ice paired up,
the main show came from the bench.
Pittsburgh Assistant Coach Tony Granato
and Philly's Head Coach Peter Laviolette
got in a shouting match as Pierre McGuire
narrated from below.
As Simmonds and Engelland stepped up,
Giroux inched his way towards the fray.
Whether he was blocking his coach
from climbing into the Penguins' bench,
or egging on anyone he could,
he, at least, looked to be enjoying himself.
40 penalty minutes later,
the heat had been cranked up just a bit.
So, that happened.
Then, a few days later, the postseason was set,
and they'd be playing each other again.
It's a beef!
Crosby was quick to admit what this series could bring,
but was a bit more diplomatic than some of the Flyers.
Specifically, Hartnell,
who would actually make a really good promoter.
Game one proved Crosby right.
Pittsburgh gained a 3-0 advantage in the first,
but the visiting Flyers climbed out of the hole
to force overtime, where Voracek
found the back of the net in less than three minutes.
For Pittsburgh, it marked the third multi-goal lead
they'd blown in the last four games against Philly.
They'd do it again in game two,
as the Flyers managed to net eight goals on the night,
a ludicrous number that they'd actually match in game three.
And, that third game also saw the teams
erupt in the ways of old.
And, by old, I mean like two weeks ago.
In the first period, the big spark came
when the teams met behind Philadelphia's net.
A scrum followed, and players tried to pair up,
including Crosby and Giroux along the glass,
who used the chance to have a chat.
Crosby followed Giroux and they continued their talk,
but things started to die down.
That's when Voracek went to get his glove,
Crosby played keep-away, and the teams got back into it,
which gave Giroux a chance to return to Sid.
The refs did all they could to keep them from
landing anything serious, and took the pair
quickly to the ice.
If nothing else, they served as a distraction
for Letang to take his turn with Timonen.
G and The Kid were sent to the box,
where they continued their conversation,
and it became clear Crosby had a lot on his mind.
The teams settled down a little in the second,
but in the third, after Giroux made it 7-4 Flyers,
they got back to shenanigans.
It started when Neal left his skates to hit Couturier high.
The teams came together as he lay on the ice,
but once play resumed, with Neal still out there,
it got a bit out of hand.
He again went high, this time on Giroux,
who had trouble finding his balance.
And, seconds later, a slow change gave an excuse
to mix it up in front of the benches.
Everybody paired up, including Crosby and Schenn,
and as the referees attempted to sort this one out
and get the boys back in the boxes,
more scrums broke out.
Just like in 1989, these teams never wanted the fun to end.
After 60 minutes were finally finished,
the two sides had combined for 132 minutes
in penalties and minimal goaltending.
The Flyers came away with an 8-4 win,
and went up three games to none on the series.
Afterward, Crosby spat his now-famous feelings
about Philadelphia.
- I don't like 'em.
- [Reporter] Why don't you like 'em?
- 'Cause I don't like 'em.
- Did he do something, I mean, - I don't like
- to harm-- - any guy on their team, so.
- Giroux seemed to take pride in the rival's words
or the fact he had gotten a reaction from Crosby
that no other Flyer had.
This was the first time the Penguins captain
had fought anyone from Philadelphia,
and just the sixth time in his pro career
that he'd gotten in to a proper fight.
Shoutout to hockeyfights.com,
a site that everyone should go to and just waste time on,
because it's the greatest database ever made,
and, if you disagree, then fight me.
Maybe they'll make a post out of it.
Pittsburgh responded by absolutely pouring it on
in game four,
then won a much closer game five.
By game six, though, Giroux looked to end it early.
Five seconds in, he met Crosby with a massive
open-ice hit at the blue line.
Then, less than half a minute later,
intercepted a Penguins' attempt to clear,
and put a shot stick-side past Fleury to make 1-0
just 32 seconds into the game.
(horn blaring) - [Announcer] Claude Giroux
(crowd cheering) just 32 seconds in!
- They took the series with a 5-1 win,
shook hands, and had to wait to heat the beef back up.
But, that didn't take too long.
After the Flyers were bounced in the next round,
Giroux needed to have surgery on both wrists.
The cause?
Well, according to Claude,
Crosby gave him enough whacks on face-offs,
that he was left with a fracture, plus torn cartilage.
When Sid was notified about this,
he denied the attempt, but made it clear
if he caught a wrist, he couldn't care less.
If anything, he found it funny.
He felt like that was something the Flyers did.
So, any complaints fell on deaf ears.
Although Giroux didn't get an apology,
he was on the receiving end of a few better things.
First, he was voted by fans onto the cover of
EA Sports NHL 13,
further proof of his elevated status in the sport.
Then, the Flyers cemented his importance
by naming him captain.
The January announcement came
just before the season began,
a belated start thanks to an owners-initiated lockout,
which did do one good thing.
It allowed our Pennsylvania boys
to open the season against each other.
But, despite Giroux netting one in his debut as captain,
and the Philly crowd welcoming Crosby
in the only way they know,
the Penguins took the game,
which set the tone for that shortened season.
Pittsburgh finished with the best record in the east,
and Philadelphia missed the playoffs,
as they fell under 500.
It was an uneventful stretch,
after how the previous season ended,
and, while the team rivalry remained
with consistently tough battles during the regular season,
the captains managed to stay out of the headlines
for anything other than their play.
That doesn't completely add up, though.
Becoming captain wouldn't have changed Giroux's feelings,
and Crosby had never let success get in the way of a grudge,
so how did this go from petty and hard-hitting
to kinda nothing in a year?
Well, Giroux's own coach may have had a hand in that,
albeit, a well-meaning one.
After the game six clincher,
Peter Laviolette showered Giroux in praise,
calling him the best player in the world.
Regardless of intent,
what those words wound up doing was
they cranked up the spotlight.
If your coach launches you into the same conversation
as Crosby or Ovechkin, the bar gets raised,
either in what everyone expects from you,
or what you expect from yourself.
And, just a year after being anointed,
a year where the Flyers and their captain struggled,
Giroux admitted that he hadn't quite been feeling it,
and needed to find his confidence.
It would make sense, then, that the beef,
for him, at least, would take a backseat.
But, then, things kinda got weird.
So, these teams were in slightly different places.
The Flyers made the postseason just twice
in the five years after the 2012 slugfest,
while the Penguins won back-to-back cups in 2016 and 17.
But, in the midst of all that, came a new layer to this.
For the 2015 IIHF World Championship,
Crosby and Giroux found themselves on the same team.
Giroux had recently called their relationship "interesting,"
while discussing the rivalry,
but their allegiance to Team Canada
was strong enough for the captains to look past
whatever history they had.
That wouldn't prevent it from feeling extremely wrong
when Giroux found Crosby in close, who buried the puck,
and then the pair actually celebrated together.
But, I mean, even they'd probably admit
neither looks over the moon, here.
When talking about it, though,
they said, "Eventually, things didn't feel too bizarre."
Once they put on the same jersey,
everyone had the same goal,
and it worked just fine, as Crosby pointed out,
who also was tasked with playing the captain on a ship
rostering multiple Flyers.
But, he did it well.
Team Canada dominated the tournament,
and the beefmates turned teammates took home the gold.
A year later, they'd do it again at the World Cup of Hockey,
and it came even easier.
Giroux said they hadn't really known each other off the ice
before the World Championship, and as we know,
they didn't like each other.
But, now, he had an easy time admitting Crosby
was a great guy off the ice.
As for Sid, he even went as far as saying
it was fun to play together.
It probably helped that they went undefeated
in both tournaments, but I digress.
While the individual beef seemed to spoil,
thankfully, nothing could let
the Battle of Pennsylvania go bad.
And, when they met in the 2018 playoffs,
the captains again jostled.
Crosby even called out Giroux for a questionable hit,
but after the Penguins took the series in five games,
it was clear things between the individual pair
had peaked long ago.
These players have brought the best out of each other,
whether playing for opposing teams, or on the same side.
While they've both found individual success,
only one has gotten his name on the cup,
doing so enough times that it helped the feud fade.
But, regardless of who's good, bad, winning, losing,
there will always be enough fuel for the teams' rivalry.
And, for as long as they've got the C
stitched on their jersey,
there will always be a little extra spotlight
shining on Crosby and Giroux.