Penguins: Sidney Crosby almost scored a backhanded ‘Michigan’ goal (Video)

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby almost scored the goal of the year.

This past Saturday, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid scored the goal of the year by slicing through the Toronto Maple Leafs for the coast-to-coast tally. That individual achievement was almost taken away from McDavid by Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby.

While facing the New York Rangers on Monday night, Crosby took stood behind the Rangers net before attempting the famous “Michigan” goal on his backhand. But, goaltender Igor Shesterkin just closed the gap to prevent the puck from hitting the back of the net.

Close but no cigar for Crosby

This move is called the “Michigan” in honor of University of Michigan player Mike Legg, who scored a goal in this very manner back in a 1996 NCAA tournament game against Minnesota.

There have been numerous NHL players who attempted this move, such as Evgeny Kuznetsov, Filip Forsberg, Auston Matthews and Claude Giroux. But the first player to successfully pull it off in the NHL was Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes back on Oct. 29, 2019 in a game against the Calgary Flames. The Hurricanes forward would actually score another “Michigan” over a month later against the Winnipeg Jets!

Crosby attempted to pull off the lacrosse-style goal on the backhand, but the young Rangers netminder saw it coming.