As Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a lot of ceremonies.
Add in that it is the team’s 50th season and there are bound to be plenty of pre-game recognition. Well, one of those photo ops happened yesterday and it seems like Evgeni Malkin wanted to get it over with. Not everybody was paying attention, but Geno has a couple tricks up his sleeve that are sure to get anybody’s attention – including the audience.
Reddit user “Flintor” noticed this little scratch to the crotch from Malkin to Chris Kunitz in yesterday’s pre-game ceremony.
While this is an extremely irregular way to get your teammate to pay attention, it seems to have worked. Kunitz is clearly in shock and stands completely still for the photo.
It also worked for him on the ice, as he scored on the night, for just his second goal in 18 games. Maybe this is exactly what Kunitz needed to jumpstart his offense this year. Sometimes the smelling salts won’t even wake you up, but this move from Malkin is sure to.
This may seem odd, but it’s far from the weirdest sports moments we’ve ever seen.
