Ryan Callahan boards Kris Letang; suspension coming? (Video)
We wondered how physical the series would get between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It took only 2:50 to find out as Ryan Callahan boarded Kris Letang in the first period.
There was confusion at first as to what exactly Callahan’s penalty (or penalties) would be.
He received a five minute major for boarding. The assumption that he was going to be tossed to, but he was kept in the game.
We don’t know the reason why he didn’t receive a game misconduct when it was clear he boarded, and laid an elbow into the back of Letang’s head. Some surmised that the officials determined that Letang was not injured to the point of warranting Callahan’s expulsion.
Letang stayed on the ice for a couple minutes as the trainer came over to assess him. He was helped off the ice, and went directly to the locker room.
Given Letang’s history with concussions, we expected him to be out of action for a while. He was off the bench for just shy of 10 minutes of game play, and came out to finish the period.
The Department of Player Safety will certainly have a look at the play, and the Lightning could be without Callahan (among others) for Game 2 and possibly beyond.
– – – – – – –
Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.
MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY:
