The beginning of the Eastern Conference Finals was a rough one for both teams. Tampa Bay got the much sought after victory via a 3-1 score but it didn't come without some carnage.
The first period had some real bad moments which inflicted each team.
The first moment was Ryan Callahan's hit from behind on Kris Letang. The referees correctly gave a five minute major for the infraction but did not feel the need to give more. It was a pretty gross hit. There was plenty of time to pull up and not drive through Letang.
Ryan Callahan will face no further discipline for his hit on Kris Letang. https://t.co/X8x3DkoQAZ @reporterchris pic.twitter.com/1w7jSRfnkK
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 14, 2016
It is tough at times to figure out the intent of the checking player but sometimes they make it easy for you.
McGuire, on what Callahan said to Letang skating to bench after latest hit: "It's coming all series." #TBLightning #Pens
— Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) May 14, 2016
Conceptually it is pretty egregious that there will be no hearing for a suspension. That hit checked off all the boxes for an illegal hit. Competitively Ryan Callahan is a bottom six player these days (1.36 5v5 pts/60) and not quite the player he once was. I can't say that suspending Callahan would actually make a positive difference to the Penguins. Jonathan Marchessault would probably fill in just fine for Tampa. Pittsburgh dropped the ball by not scoring on the major they were given. That was a huge missed opportunity. They had a few nice looks but Ben Bishop made a couple of great saves.
As for Kris Letang it sure looked like he went out cold for a split second on that hit. I can't be the only one who was incredibly surprised that he made his way back into the game. Here is to hoping that he doesn't have symptoms pop up in the next few days because the team isn't going to fare well without him against the fastest team they've played this postseason. The drop-off from Kris Letang to Brian Dumoulin is a lot more pronounced than the drop off from Bishop to Vasilevskiy. What makes matters worse for Pittsburgh is that Brian Dumoulin's status is unknown because of the board he took from Ondrej Palat.
Ben Bishop was carried off on a stretcher in a scary scene. The good news is that this was a fluke accident and didn't involve a Penguins player cheapshotting him. The bad news is obvious. It appeared to be an extremely painful and serious injury. Jon Cooper said that X-rays were negative after the game which was good. If Bishop is unable to go they should do just fine with Vasilevskiy in net. Tampa is playing well and if they get league average goaltending they will be in a good position to keep winning. This is the latest update on Bishop.
BREAKING: #TBLightning @Benbishop30 is considered day to day with lower body injury, Steve Yzerman says.
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) May 14, 2016
Pittsburgh has a great line with Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, and Phil Kessel, but at what cost? The Crosby and Malkin lines haven't really accomplished much since the beginning of the Washington series. Crosby and Malkin have only combined for three points at even-strength the last seven games. If you take the players who have been in the "top six" for the past couple weeks (Crosby, Malkin, Sheary, Kunitz, Rust, Fehr, Hornqvist) they have combined for eleven even-strength points. That just isn't good enough. If HBK has an off night somebody needs to pick up the slack.
If you want to leave the HBK line alone that is fine but there is an obvious lineup change that needs to be made to accommodate that. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin need to play together at even-strength. They both need help and let's face it the two best wingers on the team don't play with either of them. This has a track record of success in a playoff setting. Dan Bylsma loaded the two up on a line against the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013-14. They drove possession to the tune of 63.64% with Chris Kunitz. I am not suggesting that Chris Kunitz should be the third guy on that line in 2015-16 but the big two need help and the only way I see them getting it is to help each other. Or you need to split up HBK and spread the wealth a little bit.
Halfway through game, Malkin with 14 attempted shots. That is crazy.
— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) May 14, 2016
Imagine Sid playing with that Geno instead of Eric Fehr.
Speaking of Chris Kunitz he was completely careless engaging Tyler Johnson. The result was a knee to knee hit which caused Johnson to miss a portion of Game 1. Johnson did return but the extent of the damage is yet to be revealed. I'd say Kunitz should get a look from the department of player safety but they aren't even giving one for Callahan.
Olli Maatta has been playing some bad hockey for a while now. His misplay in the neutral zone led to a breakaway goal for Tampa Bay. Tampa's speed was going to pose big problems for him due to his skating being hampered but if he is going to compound it with taking bad angles and making bad decisions it is going to get worse before it gets better. If Brian Dumoulin can't play Maatta will probably be saved from a healthy scratch but I still think he deserves one. Maatta hasn't had a good year and for some reason his play is not held to the same standard as some of the other players who regularly watch from the press box. This certainly doesn't mean that Maatta won't be good in the future but he isn't good now. He needs to get healthy.
Pittsburgh did lead Tampa 70-41 in shot attempts. In the future that should yield more than one goal for the Penguins. It isn't going to get any easier with Anton Stralman inching his way back to a return.
The series doesn't resume until Monday night so guys like Bishop, Johnson, Letang, and Dumoulin will have an extra day to heal.
Thanks for reading!