Case in point: the Arizona Coyotes goaltender was caught flicking the back of Crosby's helmet with his trapper during a scrum that developed in front of the net.
Clearly Smith didn't want to fall prey to the 1,000th point recorded by the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar, who entered the game sitting on 998.
The two were teammates on Canada's 2014 Olympic team, so maybe it was all in good fun, although Nick Bonino wasn't taking any chances and stepped right in.
Lundqvist, 34, is the fastest goalie to reach the feat (727 games) and just the second to do it with one franchise, joining all-time wins leader Martin Brodeur.
King Henrik is also the winningest European-born goalie in NHL history, passing Dominik Hasek with win No. 390 in December.
Lundqvist currently ranks 12th all time in victories, but by season's end, can move up to ninth, passing Chris Osgood (401), Grant Fuhr (403), and Glenn Hall (407).
Throughout his career, Lundqvist has been a model of consistency, winning at least 30 games in every full season he's played. He owns a career save percentage of .920, and a GAA of 2.31.
With four seasons remaining on his contract, Lundqvist certainly has plenty of time to further climb the ranks before he retires, and each win from here helps cement his case as one of the all-time greats.
Playing their first game since the death of team owner Mike Ilitch, the Detroit Red Wings were welcomed by the Columbus Blue Jackets with a touching tribute and moment of silence prior to puck drop Saturday afternoon.
Unfortunately, a fan took the opportunity to yell "pizza," presumably in reference to Ilitch having founded the Little Caesar's Pizza chain.
Detroit's next home game will be Feb. 15, where one of the great owners in modern sports history will be honored more appropriately.
"A lot of times, they say you should put (a bad loss) in the trash can and forget about it," Laviolette said, according to The Tennessean's Adam Vingan. "I think we should take it home and wrestle with it all night."
A 2-2 game changed quickly in the second period, when the Panthers scored three goals in two-and-a-half minutes.
"It was gross," Laviolette went on. "We didn't play with any purpose. There was no passion, no effort."
It was Nashville's second straight loss, and the Preds are in action again Sunday at home against the Stars.
"We've got to play like we're fighting for our lives," captain Mike Fisher said.
Nashville sits fourth in the Central, and holds the second wild-card spot in the West. It's tight, though, and will remain so through the rest of the season. And in a very competitive West, a couple of good teams will no doubt miss the playoffs.
The immensely talented Tampa Bay Lightning forward put on a show Saturday night in Winnipeg, showing off all his skill in setting up Brayden Point's game-opening goal.
Drouin uses a perfect stick check to steal the puck from Jets captain Blake Wheeler
Drouin swings to the blue line, keeping the puck in the zone, then dances around Wheeler, who was trying to make amends
Drouin goes wide around Scheifele, circling the net for a second time, and throws the puck out front while everyone thinks he's taking the puck with him
Al Montoya was reminded of that fact firsthand Saturday night, losing his footing early in the Montreal Canadiens' game against the St. Louis Blues and allowing a regrettable goal less than four minutes in.
Patrik Berglund redirected Alex Pietrangelo's shot for his 15th marker of the season. Shea Weber answered for the Canadiens to get Montoya off the hook and tie it up late in the frame.
Bill Foley isn't ruling out the possibility of officially closing the expansion fee process by the end of the month, but it doesn't sound likely.
The Vegas Golden Knights owner says that while the $500 million he owes the league will be ready before the March 1 trade deadline, some sticking points remain that could prevent the club from making deals.
“It’s going to be complicated for us to do it by (Feb.) 28th because of all the legal documents that we’re doing with the NHL that still have to be completed,” Foley told Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a story published Saturday.
“We’re still negotiating a few points. But the money will be ready around the 25th or 26th, so if we can get all the legal paperwork finished, we may be able to move it up.”
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed last week that Golden Knights general manager George McPhee and his staff will be allowed to begin making roster moves with some parameters once the transaction is complete.
Foley told Carp that the final payment will most likely go through in the first week in March, which would be in time for the general managers' meetings in Florida (March 6-8) and in time to sign college free agents, but not before the final opportunity for clubs to make trades on March 1 at 3 p.m. ET.
McPhee is ready to start making moves, but whether he'll be able to pull the trigger on trades before time runs out remains to be seen.
"We’d like to participate as soon as we can and see what’s out there," the GM said.
The 27 goals this season were scored in 27 fewer games, meaning Atkinson - a 2017 All-Star - is set to smash his personal benchmark, as well as push for a new team record.
By averaging 0.5 goals per game to date, Atkinson is now on pace for 41 goals by season's end, provided he can avoid the injury bug and appear in all 82 games. Should he hit that mark, he would tie Rick Nash for the single-season franchise record, set in 2003-04.
Nash, it should be noted, shared the Richard Trophy that year with Ilya Kovalchuk and Jarome Iginla, and while Sidney Crosby has a leg up on the NHL scoring race this season, that piece of hardware isn't entirely out of the question for Atkinson.
Not bad for Columbus' eighth-highest paid skater and a player who was selected 157th overall at the 2008 Draft.
Atkinson is providing immense value for a player making $3.5 million this season, and if he can keep it up, he'll put himself in a position to cash in big time as an unrestricted free agent in 2018.
For the near future, Columbus is hoping Atkinson can keep it going through Game 82 and beyond in order to help the club win its first-ever playoff series, at the very least.
Anderson had been away from the club attending to his wife, Nicholle, who was diagnosed with cancer in late October.
"The crowd has just been outstanding," he added Saturday.
"The city of Ottawa, the organization, it's just been a dream come true the way they've handled everything and allowed me to be a husband and to be a dad. (They understand it's) family first, and they've really hammered that home. I can't thank the city and the organization enough."
Anderson previously took several brief absences before deciding the situation required a more extended leave.
Nicholle tweeted earlier Saturday that she couldn't be happier to see some normalcy back in their lives, and her husband agreed when asked about that after the game.
"That's key for myself to get into a routine and get her into a routine, and (for) the kids," he said.
As for Saturday's first-star honors, clearly it's not a one-game achievement in the Anderson household.
It doesn't matter what day it is babe, you will always be my first star! I love you! ❤️@CraigAnderson41