Penguins furious over Sidney Crosby embellishment penalty

In the end, Hathaway was called for high-sticking, but things were evened up as Crosby was also called for embellishment.

Flyers fans have long criticized Crosby for diving and embellishing, so him actually getting called for it in a playoff game, in Philadelphia, was like throwing a bucket of chum into shark-infested waters. 

The Penguins strongly disagreed with the call after the game, with head coach Dan Muse coming to Crosby's defense and pointing out that this is the first time in his two-decade-plus career he has been called for embellishment.

The irony of this is that Hathaway, the player who initiated the sequence with the careless high-stick, has actually been fined by the NHL for embellishment in the past, meaning the league has flagged him for multiple embellishments. (Players get a warning for their first embellishment, and then get fined for the second.)

Your opinion on the calls here is largely going to come down to what side of Pennsylvania you reside in and what your rooting interests are. It is clearly a penalty. Crosby took his time getting up and remained on the ice for a bit to make sure everybody knew he was hit. But if he does not do that, does the high-sticking penalty even get noticed?