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Penguins' Sidney Crosby Reacts to Boos From Fans

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been playing well recently and Sidney Crosby had some thoughts on the fans' reactions.

Nick Horwat

Dec 10, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) prepare to take a face-off against the Colorado Avalanche during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Dec 10, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) prepare to take a face-off against the Colorado Avalanche during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t had a great time to this point in the 2024-25 NHL season, as poor play and losing streaks have piled up. A recent 5-1-0 run briefly turned the Penguins into one of the hottest teams in the league, but they came back to Earth with a 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

While allowing six goals to the Avalanche, including a Mikko Rantanen hat trick, boos began to be heard from the Penguins fans at PPG Paints Arena. The fanbase isn’t happy with the Penguins and they let it be known, even if they had won five of their last six and were sniffing a playoff spot heading into their contest with the Avalanche.

The boos were loud enough that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby noticed them and he wasn’t too happy with the crowd’s reaction. The Penguins had been playing really well and beating some of the best teams.

“You wouldn’t know it tonight, would you?” Crosby said to Josh Yohe of the Athletic.

The Penguins lost 6-2, but entered the third period very much in the game. They scored late in the second to make it a one-goal game, but the Avalanche poured it on in the third.

Even if the Penguins power play failed to score on any of their five chances, Crosby doesn’t think they deserved to be booed.

“I think there’s been some times this season when we deserved it,” Crosby said. “I don’t think tonight was one of them.”

Any time a team gets booed by their own crowd, it’s a clear sign of something going wrong with the team or a certain player.

Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry has been feeling the heat since the start of the season after a tough 2023-24 and an offseason full of discussions of a trade. Jarry followed that with a horrendous start and a stint in the American Hockey League.

The ire of the fans may have shifted to the entire team as they head back to the loss column, but that won’t make or break the Penguins season.

With a 12-14-4 record for 28 standings points, the Penguins are still just two points back of that second wild card spot. The Eastern Conference is so tight, though, that they are also just three points above the last-place Montreal Canadiens.

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Nick Horwat
NICK HORWAT

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