Crosby fires back at the embellishment call

He didn't get his embellishment call. He didn't understand how Bryan Rust got two additional minutes for roughing. And he said the whole sequence was hard to make sense of.

His conclusion came with the kind of resignation you rarely hear from him. You play through it. That's what Crosby said. Not what he wanted to say.

Pittsburgh is now down 3-0 in the series after dropping Game 3 Wednesday night in Philadelphia. The Flyers are one win away from closing the book.

The 38-year-old captain is pointless through three games with a minus-2 rating. He posted 29 goals and 74 points in 68 regular-season games, so this quiet playoff start has been jarring.

Dan Muse has a mess on his hands. His team has been outscored, out-disciplined, and now is openly frustrated with the officiating three games into his first playoff run as head coach.

That's a lot of plates spinning for a first-year bench boss. Rick Tocchet's Flyers, by contrast, look like they've done this before.

Is Crosby right about the calls? The tape will tell. But the bigger issue is that a player of his stature doesn't do postgame media scrums like that unless something genuinely bothered him.

Crosby's quote tells you everything about where the locker room is right now. Confused. Frustrated. And trying to hold the line for a Game 4 with no room to lose.

Rust led the Penguins with 29 goals and 65 regular-season points. Getting him into penalty trouble is a win for Philadelphia before the puck even drops next time.

This roster has playoff mileage and a shrinking window, and the two aren't a great combination.

Game 4 shifts back to Philadelphia on Saturday. Crosby says the team plays through it. At 38, he's not getting a lot more chances to prove that in a meaningful game.

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