NHL won't discipline David Steckel for collision with Sidney Crosby in Winter Classic

By Lindsay Applebaum



David Steckel and Sidney Crosby wait for the puck to drop in the first period. Crosby took issue with Steckel's collision with him late in the second period. (Toni Sandys/Washington Post)



The NHL has ruled David Steckel's collision Saturday with Penguins captain Sidney Crosby incidental contact, reports ESPN's Pierre Lebrun, and the Capitals forward will not be disciplined.

Asked about the collision after Washington's 3-1 victory in the Winter Classic, Steckel said it was an accident. "I didn't even know it was him until I looked back," he added.

Crosby said he wasn't sure what happened, either.

"I can't really comment on it," he said in his postgame news conference. "It's pretty far behind the play. Maybe the refs didn't even see it. A lot of people didn't, but I don't know. Got in my head, that's for sure, but I don't even know how it developed."

Pittsburgh players spoke out more about the incident Monday, though, with Brooks Orpik saying it was "definitely dirty" and Crosby saying he found it hard to believe it was accidental.

"How tall is Steckel?" Crosby asked, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I find it hard to believe that his shoulder hit me in the head ... at 6-foot-5 ... by accident."

The case is closed, but here's Steckel's second-period collision with the Penguins captain if you missed it: