Letang’s suspension comes on the heels of his late, high hit on Capitals forward Marcus Johansson in the first period of Game 3.
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He’s averaging more than 29 minutes in the playoffs, has seven points in eight games, and is tasked with matching up against the Capitals top line of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie.
Some may wonder if this is too lenient, especially considering the three-game suspension Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik received for his hit on Olli Maatta in Game 2.
“Based on playoff body of work and age, they have to keep Murray”, said longtime National Hockey League executive and ESPN.com contributor Frank Provenzano.
Then there’s 23-year-old American winger Bryan Rust, who scored twice and added an assist in the Penguins’ first round series-clinching Game 5 victory over the Rangers.
According to the Department of Player Safety’s explanation, Letang was guilty of interference and made significant contact with Johansson’s head on the play in question.
In the 2nd period, Carl Hagelin scored the lone goal for the Penguins.
The Penguins were too good for the Presidents’ Trophy winners from the word go as they stormed into the lead just six minutes, 37 seconds into the game. Fortunately, Johansson went through the concussion protocol and did return to the game.
The Capitals took 49 shots on goal, tying a franchise record for a regulation playoff game, and coach Barry Trotz said they generated 30 scoring chances.
The Penguins kept the pressure on, and this time a Letang pass from deep in his zone began a 2-on-1 break, with 39-year-old center Matt Cullen’s pass from the left circle deflecting off rookie Kuhnhackl and past Holtby. Defenseman Justin Schultz, a puck mover who could also factor into the power play because of his shot, is expected to fill Letang’s spot in the lineup for Game 4. It was a case of awful judgement on Letang’s part considering the attention around this behavior in this series and now, the Penguins have to pay the price.
“Best player on the ice”, Hornqvist said simply. “It was meant to be a hard hit, definitely not at his head but I don’t think there is anything that you can argue that it was definitely late”.
“It’s more stressful when you don’t play than when you play”, Fleury said.
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Game 4 will set the stage for the continuation of a hard-hitting series between two teams that already don’t like each other. Maatta also missed Game 3 and D Derrick Pouliot replaced him…. He finished the game and was pretty physical on me afterwards.
