Brandon Dubinsky to have NHL hearing for Sidney Crosby cross-check

Brandon Dubinsky often plays Sidney Crosby tough but the Columbus Blue Jackets forward might have to miss game action and pay through the wallet for his actions against the Pittsburgh captain on Friday night.

Dubinsky will have a hearing with the NHL's department of player safety on Saturday for his cross-check to Crosby's neck late in the second period of the Blue Jackets' 2-1 overtime victory.

Crosby went to the Penguins dressing room with 1:20 left in the period but returned for the start of the third and finished the game. Dubinsky was assessed a two-minute minor for cross-checking.

Crosby was standing in front of Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky when Dubinsky used his stick to hit Sid the Kid high.​

Crosby fell to the ice, where Dubinsky gave him another cross-check to the back, breaking Dubinsky's stick.

​After the game, Crosby, who has a history of concussions, said he felt fine.

"Yeah, I'm okay," the Penguins captain told the team's website. "I think there's always concern when that happens."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised," Crosby added when asked if he expected that kind of play from Dubinsky, with whom he has a history of bad blood. "If I was going to get one of those shots it was probably going to be from him."

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Johnston was less than thrilled when he took a second look at the play.

"When you look at it again," he said, "it looked bad to me when I saw it in-between periods."

Dubinsky, who has never been suspended in nine NHL seasons, told reporters he doesn't try to play a dirty game.

"I felt my stick rode up his back a little bit," he said of Crosby. "He's kind of bent over there in front [of the net]. But again that's not really the type of player I am. I'm going to play hard but try and play fair and in between the whistle."

Columbus visits St. Louis on Saturday while Pittsburgh hosts the Edmonton Oilers.