Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan will not face a suspension hearing for his controversial check on Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Callahan received a five-minute major for the hit, which you can watch in the video above. He explained his case for what happened here, claiming that Letang “turned at the last second.”
As one might expect, not everyone was happy with the league’s decision regarding discipline (or lack thereof).
No hearing for Callahan. I'm both shocked and not surprised even a little bit. So NHL endorses these hits. It's open season now.
— Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) May 14, 2016
DoPS: well he got suspended for 5 whole minutes what more do you want
— nowhere guy (@starkmone) May 14, 2016
Brendan Shanahan suspended 13 players in the playoffs his first year in charge of DoPS. Dept. has suspended 15 players in four years since.
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) May 14, 2016
There were some other controversial moments in the Lightning’s eventual 3-1 win in Game 1.
Ondrej Palat (only?) received a minor penalty for a hit on Brian Dumoulin while a Chris Kunitz knee-to-knee hurt Tyler Johnson.
So far, it appears as if all three incidents will pass by without a fine or a suspension, but PHT will make note if that changes. The two teams square off in Game 2 on Monday.
here is another look at the hit in the first period by #TBLightning Ryan Callahan on #Pens Kris Letang pic.twitter.com/ZkUOM6F9vn
— Dirk Shadd (@DirkShadd) May 14, 2016