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The Pittsburgh Penguins avoided elimination for a second straight game with a decisive Game 5 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night, but celebrations were briefly interrupted when a skirmish broke out following a controversial hit on Sidney Crosby after the final buzzer.
Flyers forward Travis Konecny found himself at the center of the melee — and controversy — after appearing to cross-check Sidney Crosby after the game ended, marking the second incident involving Konecny in this series to draw criticism.
Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins collides with Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period of Game 2 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in Pittsburgh on April 20, 2026. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
A massive brawl broke out with Crosby and Konecny at the bottom of the pileup.
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Eventually the players were separated, but fans on social media criticized Konecny for his “dirty” plays during the first-round series.
“No way Konecny is going to perform one of the cheaper counterchecks on Crosby to end the match,” one person wrote on X.
Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers reacts after a goal by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period of Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 27, 2026. (Justin Berl/Getty Images)
“The examples are too numerous [to] count. But another example of the garage league @NHL @NHLPlayerSafety not protecting their stars and players,” another person added. “No one has ever bought a ticket or watched Travis Konecny. A fine or additional disciplinary action should be imposed. But that won’t be the case.”
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The Athletic’s Josh Yohe even accused Konecny of hitting Crosby with “clear intent to injure.”
“It’s a bad series and both teams crossed the lines. But no one has been cheaper/dirtier in this series than Konecny, whose countercheck of Crosby after the end of the game clearly showed intent to injure. Earlier in this series, Konecny tried to kick Rust. Very dirty player.”
The “kick” Yohe referred to took place in Game 3.
Bryan Rust of the Pittsburgh Penguins fights with Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period of Game 3 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Philadelphia on April 22, 2026. (Matt Slocum/AP)
Konecny appeared to kick Bryan Rust during an altercation, but he denied it, telling reporters during his post-match press conference that he did not remember any kicks.
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Connor Dewar, Kris Letang and Elmer Soderblom scored and Crosby had two assists Monday night to cut the Flyers’ lead to 3-2 and force Game 6 on Wednesday.
“I think it’s something we pride ourselves on all year. Throughout the season we’ve been in different situations and I think we’ve done a great job handling adversity and again here we’re faced with more,” Crosby said after the win. “It doesn’t get any easier, so we know it’s a big challenge to get into it. But we have a lot of confidence in our group, we’ve done it many times.”
