Feb 3, 2007 3 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby insists he won’t be bullied. Crosby was knocked to the ice when he was hit with the butt end of the stick by Montreal’s Maxim Lapierre during the opening faceoff of Thursday’s game. No penalty was called on the play and the Penguins went on to win 5-4 in a shootout.

Crosby insists such tactics will not work, and coach Michel Therrien says that kind of play will not be tolerated.

“I’ve been dealing with it since I was pretty young,” said Crosby, who was a standout junior player in Canada. “I don’t know if it makes me better, but it probably allows me to focus a little more when something happens that early in a game.

“It’s a bit of a wake-up call. You know you’re in for an intense and emotional game, so maybe it gets your mind a little more focused.”

Therrien said Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau started his fourth line against the Penguins’ top unit, and he took that as a premeditated move to attack Crosby, the league’s leading scorer. Carbonneau seemed to corroborate that theory when he responded by questioning Therrien for sending Crosby out to start the game against a Montreal checking line.

“You don’t like to see those things,” Therrien said. “I’d rather keep my comments to myself, but we see more and more of Sidney receiving cheap shots during games, and it’s got to stop. He’s the best player in the league, and he’s going to be that player … The focus is on him, and in the meantime, we ask that the league has got to protect players like this.

“You just can’t receive a shot like that on the opening faceoff and (the opponent) not get penalized.”

Therrien rejects the notion that the Penguins need a so-called “enforcer” to send out to fight or rough up opposing teams that are physical with Crosby.

The Canadiens took exception to a hard hit by Pittsburgh’s Colby Armstrong on their captain, Saku Koivu, by attempting to engage him in a fight. The result was a seven-minute power play for the Penguins.

“I like the team chemistry and the way guys stick up for each other,” Therrien said. “That’s a good thing, better than having an enforcer.

“If we’re disciplined and our power play is playing very well, there’s different ways to react. And, right now, the guys are sticking together, and when Sid receives a shot, our guys are sticking their nose in there for him.”

Crosby finished with three points against the Canadiens.

“Well, you know Sid plays really well when he plays on emotion,” Therrien said. “And if you look down through the season (game-by-game statistics), I guess his emotion is there almost every night.”