Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini lined up opposite each other repeatedly at the SAP Center on Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain at 39 and the San Jose Sharks captain at 20.
Video of one of those draws has been doing the rounds since, and it shows Crosby giving him absolutely nothing. Stick on hands, body on body, no interest whatsoever in letting the younger man settle.
Supporters watching it back have landed somewhere unexpected.
“This is the greatest level of respect Celebrini could receive. No free lunches in this league,” one wrote.
“Game recognizes game. Crosby playing him hard because he knows he has to. Doing anything less is just disrespecting your opponent,” said another.
A third thought the target would agree. “Celebrini would love it. I’m sure they’re friendly off ice, but this has the same energy as playing your brother. You’d want to play extra hard against them.”
Fastest active players to 200 career points:
| Player | Games |
|---|---|
| Sidney Crosby | 142 |
| Alex Ovechkin | 165 |
| Evgeni Malkin | 166 |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 167 |
How many points does Macklin Celebrini have?
Midway through the third period, with Crosby on the ice, Celebrini faked a shot from the high slot and beat Sergei Murashov to make it 2-1. That was his 200th career point, which put him fifth on the list above and fifth-youngest in league history to the milestone.
He then set up Mason Marchment with 4:11 left to tie the game, giving Marchment his 100th career goal and Celebrini his 201st point.
The sequence that started his goal came from a Crosby giveaway.
The faceoff ledger went the other way. Crosby took 14 of his 24 draws, Celebrini eight of 18, and the Penguins captain finished with seven shots on goal without scoring.
Pittsburgh won 3-2 in a shootout through Ben Kindel, having given up a two-goal lead in the third. San Jose have now lost six of seven.
Several supporters pointed to the Olympics in February, where the two were on opposite sides of the gold medal game, as the start of whatever is going on between them. Celebrini is the fifth-youngest player ever to 200 points and is scoring at a rate nobody his age has managed in decades.
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