In the first period of Game Three, Marcus Johansson got elbowed in the head by Kris Letang. The hit, which was not unlike Brook Orpik’s in Game Two, forced a dazed Johansson to retreat to the locker room. Johansson returned for the start of the second period and ended up skating nearly 20 minutes in the game. With suspensions and fines often based on whether or not the player is injured, the league’s Department of Player Safety will undoubtedly soften the blow to Letang because Johansson came back. The Capitals forward said he passed concussion testing but had “a little whiplash.”
“I didn’t see him coming, he came from the blind side,” Johansson said. “I just looked at it, he obviously leaves his feet, and hits me in the head. It’s the kind of play you want out of the league. Doesn’t look good.”
With Orpik’s three-game suspension still fresh in his mind, Johansson wanted a similar fate for Letang when he spoke to reporters after the game.
“Yeah, I’d say so,” Johansson said when asked if Letang should face the same punishment as Orpik.
His teammates agreed.
“We’ll see how the league responds — if it’s fair,” Alex Ovechkin said.
“It’s one of those ones that hopefully they treat everyone the same,” Braden Holtby added of the NHL. “It will be interesting how they handle it. If it’s fair, he won’t be in next game. But that’s out of our control.”
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