We reached the halfway mark of the Penguins-Capitals second-round series without Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin feeding the narrative of a bitter rivalry. But in the third period of Game 4, we may finally have the antecedent for discord.

After taking a slash across the hand from Ovechkin, Crosby headed down the tunnel in considerable pain, smashing his stick on the wall on his way to the room.

He returned after a few shifts, but continued to have his left hand and wrist looked at by the medical team on the bench.

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