Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby offered his perspective on Connor McDavid’s three-game suspension for cross-checking Conor Garland during Saturday’s Edmonton-Vancouver clash. Speaking to The Athletic on Monday, Crosby acknowledged McDavid’s actions but framed them within the physical nature of hockey.

Crosby - who was the face of the league for most of his career - knows a thing or two about the liberties taken against star players on a nightly basis

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby dropped a very sincere confession about Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid's three-game suspension issued by the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

Connor McDavid was suspended by the NHL for three games for cross-checking Conor Garland of the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. After being held down on the ice for too long, he hit Garland in the face.

As any would-be hockey broadcaster raised in Pittsburgh, Cooney was influenced heavily by Mike Lange. The longtime voice of the Penguins and a broadcaster emeritus, Lange is famous in the region — and throughout North America, really — for his dozens of colorful goal calls.

The Penguins superstar is one of the few who can relate to the amount of attention and abuse McDavid gets on the ice. And this is what he had to say:

The Canadian media focused on two things Tuesday. Some bemoaned Connor McDavid’s suspension, and others chased the now red-hot NHL trade chatter surrounding J.T. Miller. Two Metro Division teams have joined the fray to acquire Miller from the Vancouver Canucks as Vancouver’s season goes splat.

Some heavyweights threw hands Wednesday night. NHL refereeing has been under fire since the NHL made Connor McDavid sit in the corner for three games and think about his cross-check. The NHL trade rumors,

Connor McDavid has waited a long time. The superstar centre set to headline Canada's roster at the 4 Nations Face-Off was a vocal proponent of getting NHL players back on the international stage and under the brightest lights.

Sidney Crosby is one of them. McDavid, after being held to the ice by Vancouver’s Conor Garland for a handful of seconds in the final moments of the Canucks’ 3-2 win on Saturday, lost his temper and cross-checked the Canucks forward in the face. It earned McDavid a three-game suspension, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Monday.

Caption: The Penguins' Sidney Crosby, left, and fellow centre Connor McDavid, right, of the Oilers will sport the red Maple Leaf on their jerseys as first-time teammates next month at the 4 Nations Face-Off. (Justin Berl/Getty Images/File)