PITTSBURGH -- It didn't take long for the mayhem to arrive in the Eastern Conference finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Before the Lightning's 3-1 win in Game 1 Friday night at Consol Energy Center, coach Jon Cooper described Game 1s in the postseason as a feel-out process, and the hatred builds as the series progresses.
Safe to say the hate is already here.
Tampa Bay's Ryan Callahan was given a five-minute major for boarding Penguins defenseman Kris Letang at 2:50 of the first period. Letang was lying on the ice motionless before a trainer tended to him. Letang was able to skate off the ice on his own and went to the locker room for tests. He returned later in the period and finished the game with no visible ill effects.
Then, in the waning seconds of the first period, the Penguins' Chris Kunitz landed a knee-on-knee hit on the Lightning's Tyler Johnson, who went down and needed help off the ice. There was no penalty on the play. Johnson was not on the ice to start the second but returned midway through the period.
Letang was not made available to the media after the loss.
"I'm trying to ride him in there, obviously, on the forecheck and unfortunately he turns at the last second," Callahan said after the game. "I'm committed. I think when he turns, his head and his body is pretty low. So, I'm trying to pin him, and in that split second I can't really make a decision. Unfortunately, I think the position he was in made it worse than it was. It was good to see him come back. Obviously, you don't want to see anybody injured, and that's not what you're trying to do. That's not the way I play. I've never been fined or suspended. I take a lot of pride in that, to be an honest player. It was good to see that he came back."
After Johnson was on the receiving end of the Kunitz hit, the Lightning forward had trouble getting to the bench and eventually needed the assistance of teammates. After the game, Cooper said, "Obviously, the refs thought there was nothing wrong with it. There's hitting in this game. He kind of was in a little bit of a vulnerable spot. The player went after him hard, really hard, and kind of caught him in a tough spot."
Johnson, who was walking with a limp, said he couldn't really comment on the hit because he did not see the replay.
"Had some pain, obviously, but did some things, felt better and was able to come back in, and now we've got a couple of days rest, so hopefully it just gets better and keeps on going," he said.
At the 15:54 mark of the third period, the Lightning's Ondrej Palat was called for boarding after he drilled Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin into the end wall. A woozy Dumoulin left the game and did not return.
After the game, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he did not have an update on Dumoulin, but the coach added Letang was fine.
"As far as the hits, they're hits from behind," Sullivan said.
As a matter of course, the NHL reviews all questionable hits, and ruled Saturday morning that the Callahan hit would not result in a fine or suspension.
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