{"id":750168,"date":"2026-04-24T16:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T16:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/750168\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T16:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T16:06:18","slug":"sidney-crosby-embellishment-penalty-billboard-posted-on-i-95-in-philadelphia-we-love-being-petty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/750168\/","title":{"rendered":"Sidney Crosby embellishment penalty billboard posted on I-95 in Philadelphia: “We love being petty”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Flyers have the Penguins on the brink of elimination after a 5-2 win in Game 3<\/a> Wednesday night in the first NHL playoff game at Xfinity Mobile Arena in eight years. And it wouldn’t be Philly sports without fans making sure no one forgets about future Hall of Fame center Sidney Crosby’s first career embellishment penalty.<\/p>\n

Phans of Philly, a group organizing travel for sports fans, took out a billboard on Interstate 95 outside the stadiums. The billboard is on I-95 north between Exit 17 and Exit 19, according to Keystone Outdoor Advertising. The agency says the billboard will run through Sunday. <\/p>\n

The billboard shows Crosby lying on the ice and reads:<\/p>\n

\n

Embellishment:<\/strong>\u00a02-minute penalty assigned when a player exaggerates contact or acts to make a foul look more severe than it was to trick refs into calling a penalty.<\/p>\n

Examples of embellishment in a sentence: CROSBY.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"flyers-phansofphilly.jpg<\/p>\n

Keystone Outdoor Advertising<\/p>\n

“We love being petty,”\u00a0Phans of Philly<\/a>\u00a0wrote on social media.<\/p>\n

With 1 minute and 13 seconds left in the first period Wednesday, the TV broadcast came back from a commercial to show Crosby lying diagonally on the ice, appearing to be in a great deal of pain.<\/p>\n

Replays<\/a>\u00a0showed Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway brushing Crosby’s face with his stick before a defensive zone faceoff and the Penguins center crumbling to the ice.<\/p>\n

Hathaway was penalized for two minutes for high sticking and visually pleaded with the referees on his way to the penalty box that Crosby dove. Hathaway made a diving signal several times with his hand and mouthed some profanities.<\/p>\n

After a consultation, the refs threw Crosby in the sin bin for two minutes. His crime? Crosby’s first career embellishment penalty.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0NHL rulebook defines embellishment<\/a> as, “Any player who blatantly dives, embellishes a fall or a reaction, or who feigns an injury shall be penalized with a minor penalty under this rule.” \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Flyers used a three-goal second period, sparked by a scrum that ended with 11 players in the penalty box<\/a>, to dispatch the Penguins, 5-2, to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series<\/a>. It was the Flyers’ first home playoff win in 10 years.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh head coach Dan Muse and Crosby both disagreed with the embellishment penalty after the game.<\/p>\n

“We don’t have a single embellishment all year. Sidney Crosby doesn’t have an embellishment in 21 seasons,” Muse said. “Stick in his face, they take both of them. I disagree on that strongly.”<\/p>\n

“I don’t know how I end up with embellishing,” Crosby said. “It’s hard to understand.”<\/p>\n

A\u00a0video went viral<\/a> on Flyers social media showing Crosby in the penalty box and a fan smirking at the future Hall of Famer after seeing a replay. Crosby smiled back, appearing to be guilty.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0fan from Fishtown told the Inquirer<\/a> his first reaction was, “‘Oh, come on … are you serious? Come on. Let’s play hockey.'”<\/p>\n

“It’s some of the gamesmanship, like they call it in soccer,” the fan told the Inquirer’s Alex Coffey. “Those little ways that you can try to get a penalty, which gives your team an advantage. And he didn’t get away with it this time. And I think he knew when you saw his little reaction.”<\/p>\n

Game 4 of the Flyers-Penguins first-round series is Saturday at 8 p.m. A Flyers win sends them to the second round.<\/p>\n

In:<\/p>\n