A goal against wasn’t the only thing Sidney Crosby gave Team France after Canada’s preliminary round win on Sunday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
Crosby also gifted French goaltender Julian Junca one of his sticks in celebration of Junca’s birthday, according to Le Journal de Montréal.
Junca turned 28 the day of Canada’s 10-2 win over France.
Crosby was one of six Canadian goalscorer who recorded a tally against Junca before he was pulled for backup Antoine Keller to finished out the loss. The goaltender finished out his birthday game having recorded 27 saves on 33 shots against.
Junca said he told Crosby after the game that the goal the Penguins captain had deflected in off a French player “wasn’t too nice,” per The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy.
This isn’t the first time Crosby has scored a not-so-nice goal against Junca. The two also matched up when Canada played France during the IIHF World Championships last May.
Junca and France got outscored 20-5 in three preliminary round games, but they are getting a chance to play for a spot in the quarterfinals during this morning’s qualification matchup with Leon Draisaitl and Germany. The game kicked off at 6:10 a.m. ET.
There will be some Penguins players back in action later this afternoon, when Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson and Sweden play Arturs Silovs and Latvia at 3:10 p.m. ET.
Crosby and Canada won’t compete again until Wednesday, when the puck drops for their quarterfinal matchup at 10:40 a.m. ET.