The NHL did, in fact, contact Brad Marchand to discuss his licking habit, and made it clear it won't be tolerated again.
Colin Campbell, the league's director of hockey operations, spoke with the Boston Bruins forward and his general manager, Don Sweeney, on Saturday, the league confirmed.
The NHL added that it put Marchand on notice that his actions Friday night - presumably referring to his lick of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan's face - were "unacceptable" and that similar behavior in the future will result in supplemental discipline.
Marchand licked Callahan's face after the Lightning winger shoved him twice in response to Marchand's low hit on him in the second period of Tampa Bay's Game 4 victory.
That led to Marchand licking Callahan's face, which prompted the league to get involved and ensure he'll be asked to stop licking players immediately, as TSN's Darren Dreger reported earlier Saturday.
Here's the full sequence as it unfolded in the second period of Game 4:
Erik Karlsson often leaves Ottawa Senators fans salivating for more with his play on the ice, so perhaps it's only natural he weighed in on Brad Marchand's penchant for licking opponents.
Unprompted, the superstar defenseman posed a surprising, but thought-provoking question when an Ottawa fan made his thoughts clear after the Boston Bruins pest licked Ryan Callahan of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.
Crosby has been on the ice for all 10 of the Penguins’ goals in their second-round series against the Washington Capitals, which resumes Saturday night in Washington with the teams tied at two wins apiece.
He's been a terror, recording multiple points in three of the series' first four games - giving him seven multi-point efforts in the postseason. It's no surprise to his teammates or head coach Mike Sullivan.
“I just think he’s the best player in the game,” Sullivan said. “He’s the best player in the game. He plays his best when the stakes are high, he plays at both ends of the rink. We rely on him to defend, we rely on him to score goals and create offense, and he’s really good at both. It doesn’t surprise me.”
Ranked second among active players in playoff points with 183, Crosby's been looking every bit the two-time Conn Smythe winner and three-time Stanley Cup champion - as if there was any question he would rise to the occasion.
“Since I’ve been his coach, that’s been my experience with him,” Sullivan said. “I just have so much respect for the type of person that he is, the type of player that he is, the care factor he has for the team and winning. He always elevates his game whenever our team needs it."
And Jake Guentzel has elevated his play alongside his star center.
Guentzel has been red-hot in the playoffs, scoring nine goals while racking up a league-best 21 points - equaling his total from last year’s postseason. His four-goal explosion in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers advanced the Penguins to the second round.
He was at it again in Game 4 on Thursday, scoring two goals on eight shot attempts in a 3-1 win against the Capitals. The 23-year-old now has 23 goals in 35 career playoff games; his 0.66 goals per game is the best mark among active players who have played at least 25 playoff games.
“Last year he surprised me,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said. “This year I expected it. This is the mentality in this locker room. We expect always more from each other.”
It seemed like the Penguins spent years searching for a winger for Crosby. Since Guentzel was called up for a second time in January last year, he's almost continuously been on the Penguins captain's line.
They have similar styles, and that's led to big plays and big goals. It's also the reason the Penguins have been able to keep up with the Capitals.
“They’re two players that like to go (into) traffic, they like to hold onto pucks, they like the physical game,” Letang said. “When you have the matchup like we had tonight, in a tight game like this, these are the guys that are gonna get rewarded. They go to the net hard and they get rewarded."
It doesn’t seem to matter who’s playing on Crosby’s right wing, either. Patric Hornqvist had been on Crosby’s line and scored a pair of goals against the Capitals. Then Sullivan shook things up in Game 4 and put Dominik Simon on the top line. Simon assisted on Guentzel’s first goal of the night.
Getting Evgeni Malkin back in Game 3 gave the Penguins' offense more juice, but the rest of the team hasn’t been able to get anything going. Derick Brassard, Phil Kessel, and Riley Sheahan all scored in the opening round against the Flyers, but have been silent against Washington.
That won't be a problem as long as Crosby and Guentzel can keep producing the way they have been all spring.
LAS VEGAS (AP) Alex Tuch scored twice to lead Vegas to a 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night, giving the Golden Knights a 3-2 series lead in their Western Conference semifinal.
James Neal, Erik Haula and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Vegas. Veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots, making save after highlight save until things got interesting late in the third period.
With San Jose trailing 4-0, Kevin Labanc, Tomas Hertl and Boedker scored in a 6:09 span to pull the Sharks within one with 4:16 remaining. However, Marchessault's empty-netter with 21 seconds left sealed it for Vegas.
Martin Jones allowed four goals on 31 shots before being pulled in the third. Aaron Dell came on and stopped all six shots he faced.
From a spectacular glove save on Mikkel Boedker's point blank shot in the first period, to a pair of back-to-back saves before and after being knocked into the goal midway through the second period, or an incredible pad save on Tomas Hertl early in the third, Fleury was dialed in from the start.
After looking lethargic for Game 4 in San Jose, the Golden Knights came out refreshed and looking more like the team that won Game 1 by a 7-0 final. Vegas set the tone in the first period, outshooting the Sharks 15-7, outhitting them 26-14, and taking a 1-0 lead.
Neal made sure the Golden Knights didn't head into the locker room empty-handed after a strong first period. Logan Couture blocked Shea Theodore's shot from the point, with the rebound going right to Neal, who drilled it past Jones to give Vegas the lead with 3 seconds left in the period.
Tuch made it 2-0 when he was in perfect position in front of the net, where he tapped in Reilly Smith's rebound past Jones on the power play.
Jones may still be trying to figure out how Haula scored, as he threw the puck at the net from the goal line and it somehow slipped through to make it 3-0 midway through the second.
Tuch pushed the lead to 4-0 with an exquisite tip over Jones' glove at 8:36 of the third, while ending the night for Jones.
The Sharks ended Fleury's bid for a fourth shutout this postseason when Labanc sniped a wrist shot top shelf, glove-side for a power-play goal to make it 4-1 at 9:35. Less than two minutes later San Jose made things interesting when Boedker's wraparound got loose, and Hertl was in the right spot to poke it in and cut Vegas' lead to 4-2.
With a little more than four minutes left in the game, and Fleury sprawled out in front of the net behind a slew of traffic, Boedker picked up a loose puck and lifted it over the pile to make it 4-3.
NOTES: A record 18,693 filled T-Mobile Arena for Game 5. ... Veteran D Luca Sbisa saw his first action since Feb. 27 for the Golden Knights, replacing Jon Merrill. ... Vegas F Oscar Lindberg made his playoff debut, taking Tomas Tatar's place on Cody Eakin's line, while Ryan Carpenter also returned to the Golden Knights' lineup, taking Tomas Nosek's spot on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare's line along with William Carrier.
