Pittsburgh Penguins News: Sidney Crosby, Matt Niskanen Fire Back at Analyst For Criticism of Team’s Stars

Two members of the Pittsburgh Penguins, star center Sidney Crosby and defenseman Matt Niskanen have fired back at NBC hockey analyst Mike Milbury who took some shots at the team’s stars during Wednesday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers by comparing Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to crack addicts for their desire to play in the offensive zone.

Here was Milbury’s comments on Crosby and Malkin:

"“The big guys, Malkin and Crosby. They’re like crack addicts. They can’t get enough of this offensive stuff. They want to go coast to coast and score goals, but it leads to some trouble.”"

It’s not the first time that Milbury has taken shots at the Penguins stars, but this time he got a response.

“I wasn’t aware of it,” Crosby said, with an overwhelming tone of sarcasm. “He watches so much hockey, he must know. I’ll try to do a better job of playing defensively.”

While Crosby took a more subtle approach at firing back at the NBC analyst, Niskanen took a more direct shot.

“It’s a little irritating,” Niskanen said. “I try not to get too flustered by it. He always has a bonehead remark to make. He’s said some bizarre things about us since I got here (in 2011). He’s definitely got something against us.

“We’re used to it, but I’m not losing any sleep over it.”

I’m sure this won’t be the last time we hear Milbury take a shot at the squad that he has called “punks” in the past, however, it’s nice to see that Penguins are finally sticking up for themselves. Perhaps these latest comments can give the team a little extra motivation for the next time they take the ice.