This wasn’t the kind of fight we were talking about.

With their backs against the walls in Game Three, the Pittsburgh Penguins came out swinging against the Philadelphia Flyers – literally.

Sidney Crosby and Co. brawled their way through most of Sunday’s playoff game, all to the the same result as the last two games. The Flyers delivered the biggest hook, blowing out Pittsburgh 8-4 to take a 3-0 series lead.

“He’s definitly a great friend,” Philadelphia’s Max Talbot said of Crosby, a close friend. “He was heated up in the moment and that’s OK. It’s not like I’m not going to not talk to him after the series.”

And now, once favored by NHL Betting Futures to win the east, the Penguins try to keep their cool, hoping to claw back and make it a series.

Bovada is favoring the Flyers by 1 1/2 goals with a -125 moneyline.
No matter what, this series has sparked a fury of conversation.

Crosby was at the center of a heated, high-scoring, fist-throwing Game Three where the former MVP dropped his gloves in a fight against Claude Giroux. The scrums have left Pittsburgh shorthanded. Craig Adams was barred one game for fighting in the third period, while Arron Asham and James Neal could miss a game, too.

“I don’t like any guy on their team,” Crosby said.

He instigated other fights from goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, poking his glove on the ice, and then rattled Jakub Voracek later in the game.

“I see Sid as such a great competitor,” Talbot continued. “When things don’t go his way, he tries to do other things. He’s kind of like me, but with 10 times more skill. He’s going to do everything he can to spark his team to get a win.”

Yet, none of it could erase the misfortune his team has faced. After securing the fourth seed in the playoffs, many oddsmakers picked the Penguins as favorites to hoist the Stanley Cup. But after a heartwrenching series opener, in which the Flyers rallied from a 3-0 defecit to win in overtime, things have gone south quickly.

Philadelphia rallied from a 3-1 defecit in Game Two. Crosby has two goals in the series.

“I think all of our minds are in the right place,” he said. “We want to find a way to get back in this series. I tihnk every guy in here believes we can do that. We’ve got to find a way to win a hockey game. When there’s adversity, that’s when you see guys’ true colors. I think we’ll show that. We’re going to leave it all out there and give ourselves a chance to try and get back in this series.”