Fleury sends Niskanen subtle message with his mask

PITTSBURGH — The battle over Matt Niskanen’s vicious cross-check to Sidney Crosby took an unusual turn from the most soft-spoken of Penguins Wednesday night.

Marc-Andre Fleury sent a subtle message to his former teammate, Niskanen, by crossing his name off the back of his mask.

Fleury had a custom mask designed for the outdoor game against the Flyers in February.  On the front, the mask has photos of players like Crosby and Chris Kunitz, players who Fleury loved to play with.

The back of the mask has a list of names, and Fleury had hand-written in “Nisky” for Matt Niskanen and “Neal’ for James Neal.  NBCSN showed an image of Fleury’s mask Wednesday night with tape covering “Nisky,” one game after Niskanen knocked Crosby out of play with a concussion.

Cox Media Group