Kyle Connor calls out Sidney Crosby after fight on Friday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the middle of one of their most frustrating seasons in recent memory and that frustration may have come bubbling out of Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on Friday night.

In an uncharacteristic move Crosby would drop the gloves against Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor on Friday night, fighting another player for only the 10th time during his entire career in the National Hockey League. Crosby and the Penguins faced off against Connor and the Jets on Saturday night and, after the Jets had already taken a commanding 3-0 lead, the gloves would come off early in the game's third period.

Crosby appeared to take exception to a reverse hit from Connor, one that came as both men were chasing down a loose puck in the corner, and one that dropped Crosby awkwardly to the ice. What was even more unusual about this fight was the fact that Crosby himself seemed to go hunting for Connor, chasing him down the ice and delivering a hard cross check to the back of his opponent, trying to goad him into dropping the gloves. Although Connor didn't initially respond to the cross check, he would do so only seconds later when the two men squared off in front of their respective benches.

Both men appeared to land a good shot on one another, both of which were right hands, with the right hand from Connor momentarily dropping Crosby to the ice. Crosby would immediately bounce back up and appeared to be looking to vent even more of his frustration, but the NHL officials quickly stepped in to stop this one... perhaps even too quickly.

When he was asked about the fight following the conclusion of the game, Connor made it clear that both he and his team wouldn't back down in the face of a challenge from anyone, even one of the long time faces of the National Hockey League.

"We’re not taking shit from anybody," said Connor after fighting the Penguins captain.

Connor also added that he believes Crosby was frustrated and making an attempt to fire up his team, which makes sense given the context of how this season has unfolded for the Penguins. Crosby and the Penguins have won just 7 of their first 22 games this season and currently sit dead last in the NHL's Metropolitan Division. Making matters even worse is a -29 goal differential for the Penguins, a clear sign that they are being outclassed by the vast majority of teams they have faced this season.