Sidney Crosby and the Penguins were down 4-1 against the Detroit Red Wings. In the last seconds of the second period, Red Wings' Walman grabbed Sidney Crosby's helmet and pulled him in near the Red Wings' blue line.
All Penguins players on the ice came to Crosby's rescue. Multiple 1-on-1 fights broke out from this point forward.
Most notably, Dylan Larkin and Marcus Petterson dropped the gloves. Both tugged jerseys but did not manage to land any hits on the other. Larkin fell to the ice while attempting to land a blow on Petterson. Petterson looked like he wanted to take on Larkin on the ice, but the refs stepped in.
Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider and Evgeni Malkin also had a small tilt. Sidney Crosby stood alongside Alex DeBrincat and watched multiple tiltls unfold in front of him.
Sidney Crosbys & Penguins' second period slump
Evgeni Malkin scored the game's first goal 53 seconds into the first period. New acquisition Alex DeBrincat continued his scoring form and netted Detroit's first goal with just over seven minutes left in the first period.
The Penguins' offense was completely shut down and they conceded three goals in the second period. Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp and David Perron scored Detroit's three goals in the second giving Red Wings a 4-1 heading into the third.
Malkin addressed the Pens' second period struggle and said:
“It’s a tough second period for us. We need to play better, for sure.”
HC Mike Sullivan spoke about the team's second period performance and said:
"I thought we just kind of lost ourselves for six or seven minutes in the second period, and they scored a couple of goals on us in that timeframe."
Penguins attempted a comeback in third period
Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust provided a strong start to the third period for the Penguins. Karlsson netted hsi first of the game on a Sidney Crosby assist. The Penguins newest star then assisted Bryan Rust for the Pens, who were just one away from tying the game.
With under two minutes left, the Pens emptied their net and Red Wings' Andrew Copp and Alex DeBrincat scored a goal each into the empty net.
The Penguins will be back on the ice on Saturday to face the St. Louis Blues, the first of two meetings between the two teams.