Lost in the Capitals’ back-to-back games during Super Bowl Weekend, Alex Ovechkin’s good friend had a career accomplishment.

After 18 years in the NHL, Sidney Crosby was given his first game misconduct.

Crosby was ejected after lipping off to referees after an incident with Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson. The Penguins would go on to lose 6-0.

“Honestly, I was shocked that I was getting kicked out of the game,” Crosby said afterward.

Sidney Crosby was given a ten-minute and a game misconduct following an altercation with Mikey Anderson. pic.twitter.com/oAHMXLn91x

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 12, 2023

The on-ice kerfuffle began as Crosby set up camp in front of Pheonix Copley and the LA Kings’ net. Anderson cross-checked Crosby in the back of the numbers, causing the Penguins captain to fall — perhaps with a little English — to the ice.

As Anderson was headed to the box for a minor penalty, Crosby became interested in the Kings defenseman’s conversation with the referees and shoved him. Anderson responded back with a shove of his own.

“I could tell [Anderson] was saying something,” Crosby said. “I don’t know what he was saying because we were pretty far from each other. I got closer and that happens often in a lot of scrums.”

Referee Garrett Rank gave both players 10-minute misconducts. Crosby’s penalty was elevated to a game misconduct — an automatic ejection — after he continued complaining to Rank, including a few apparent curse words (if I’m lip-reading right). It’s the first time Crosby has been ejected during his 1,160 game career.

Crosby’s ejection came with 10:14 left in the third period with the Penguins already down 5-0. Kings fans cheered and waved to the future Hall of Famer as he skated off the ice. I’m not sure if this is worth noting or not, but there was no mention of Crosby’s ejection in the game recap on NHL.com.

Overall in the game, Crosby had one shot and 20 penalty minutes, which was the second most PIMs received in a single game in his career. It was only the fifth time in his career he’s gotten 10 PIMs or more in a game.

The tossing comes nearly three weeks after Crosby was seen complaining to an official after a Penguins loss to Washington, drawing the attention of Capitals players, including Nicklas Backstrom, at center ice.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB