RALEIGH, N.C. – Neal Pionk took the ice at the Rangers’ optional morning skate Tuesday and talked publicly for the first time about taking a stick from Sidney Crosby in the eye in Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Penguins in Pittsburgh. The defenseman admitted it was a scary incident.
“There was a shot from the point, I went to retrieve the puck,’’ Pionk recalled of the incident, which occurred in the final seconds of the second period. “He [Crosby] just tried to lift my stick up and got a little high. After that, it was just kind of a rush of emotions.