Just when you think Philadelphia's love affair with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell had reached its peak, the duo wear a couple of microphones during the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday night and make us laugh out loud.
Not only did Hartsy assist on an easy bang in goal for his Flyers linemate, but the pair also provided us with the funniest moment of the evening.
What started as a knock on Scott Hartnell's inability to stay upright is now… still a knock on Scott Hartnell's inability to stay upright. But, ever the champion of self-deprecation, Hartnell has adopted the hashtag and made it a charitable effort.
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#HartnellDown became a central theme of Hartnell's visit to the NHL All-Star weekend, and before the game itself, Hartnell said he'd donate $1,000 for every time he hit the ice.
With few falls to count through two and a half periods, and Claude Giroux mic'd up, the announcers goaded him into running up the count. G didn't disappoint, going out of his way to try to trip Hartnell—his teammate both with the Flyers and on Team Alfredsson. One of the interesting elements of the current All-Star format is that club teammates can play against each other, as was the case with Giroux and Hartnell lining up opposite Kimmo Timonen, and Marian Gaborik lighting up Henrik Lundqvist on his way to the game's MVP.
All of which made it even funnier that Giroux tried to take out his own linemate.
You can read more about the origins of #HartnellDown here.
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Gotta once again give props to Flyers fan @SethDH for starting the whole #hartnelldown thing in the first place. There's no chance he or anyone else saw it evolving to this, but it probably feels pretty good to hear it become a central theme in a national broadcast, not to mention a charity effort.
And Claude and Hartsy once again show us that while these All-Star games may be quite dull for 45+ minutes, we can get treated to a gem like intentional, own-team inflicted #HartnellDowns.
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"Suck it, Phaneuf"
Apparently the #HartnellDowns were not Hartsy's only memorable moments as his chirping reached epic heights as well. Check out this fantastic jab aimed at Dion Phaneuf. (via Dave Lozo)