5 things we learned in the NHL last week: Crosby's smarts will make you look silly

Another week of the NHL season has come and gone, but not without teaching us a few lessons along the way.

Here's a look back at some of the most exciting and/or strange events that caught the attention of hockey fans over the last seven days and what we learned from them.

Hockey is 87 per cent mental

It's official: We can retire the "Sid the Kid" nickname.

Sidney Crosby showed pure veteran savvy on Tuesday against the Rangers (albeit less so on Saturday in Tampa Bay when he earned a 10-minute misconduct).

With his team trailing by a goal late in the third period in New York, Crosby used just as much of his mental fortitude as his physical gifts to victimize the Rangers' Kevin Shattenkirk and bank a shot off goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

That look on Shattenkirk's face — it's like he realized he didn't just get beaten by the best... he also beat himself.

Connor McDavid will give you the spins

Oilers captain Connor McDavid made all-star defencemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook look like a pair of rookies with this nifty move that led to a Patrick Maroon goal.

Some fights are so bad, they're good

If you told me Antoine Roussel and Luke Schenn were fighting over a toy in this clip, I'd be inclined to believe you.

As for where this fight lands on the list of "the best of the worst," I'd say it's somewhere just below Alex Semin vs. Marc Staal.

Kris Versteeg is a hockey piñata

This should go down as Kris Versteeg's least favourite shift of his career.

Click here to watch the series of unfortunate events.

Not only does he go down after being tagged in the knee with a Jeff Skinner wrist shot, while he's writhing in pain from that, he gets tagged in the head by a Skinner slap shot.

The injured Flames forward was helped off the ice, but was able to return to Thursday's game.

Hockey fans won't forget Gord

Canadian music icon Gord Downie passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 53.

The Maple Leafs honoured Downie with a moment of silence before the puck dropped at Wednesday's game against the Detroit Red Wings.

The Tragically Hip's frontman was a passionate hockey fan and player, and his lyrics were peppered with references to the game and its players, including this song about the Atlanta Thrashers' Dan Snyder, who died in a car crash in 2003.