30 Days of Lundqvist: Hank sprays Crosby

Madison Square Garden May 11th, 2014 - a must win Game 6 for the Rangers against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

At the end of the second period Dominic Moore was tying up Sidney Crosby’s stick after a defensive zone faceoff. Moore looked very much like a kid riding a hobby horse when Crosby decided to rattle his dice. After that a fracas ensued. Penguins and Rangers were toppling all over one another. And Henrik Lundqvist took the opportunity to spray Crosby in the face with his water bottle.

What a rascal.

“I always squirt it when I go off the ice,” Lundqvist told reporters after the game. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Hank’s “unintentional” Super Soaker drive-by baptizing became the subplot of a game that was highlighted by Martin St. Louis’ emotional and unforgettable Mother’s Day goal. Somehow Crosby spearing Moore in the junk was forgotten or overlooked by the NHL, despite the fact that two players (Ryan Garbutt and Milan Lucic) were fined for similar acts earlier in that year’s playoffs.

However, the NHL decided to fine Henrik Lundqvist $5,000 for spraying Sid in the face with water. Water, in case you weren’t aware, is relatively harmless in small quantities. The same cannot be said of carbon fiber sticks being jammed into someone’s crotch. I’m no doctor, but I would imagine that it simply can’t be good for you.

In the end Lundqvist and the Rangers got the last laugh. The Rangers won Game 6 at the Garden and then beat the Penguins in Game 7 by a score of 2-1. Lundqvist’s performance in the series was downright sensational. And his water gun assault on Crosby was the cherry on top of the sundae.