Questions were raised as to whether or not Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins would face any sort of supplemental discipline from the league after his slash to the face/neck area of Viktor Stalberg last night.
Those questions were answered today when Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reported that Letang will not have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety.
No hearing for #penguins Kristopher Letang. #lnh #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) April 20, 2016
The incident occurred right around the 13-minute mark in the third period of last night’s matchup at Madison Square Garden. Letang, skating through a check, raises his stick and seemingly slashes Stalberg on purpose. Video of the incident is below.
Stalberg was shaken up on the play but returned to action.
The lack of disciplinary action this time of year isn’t surprising. Consider that Pierre-Edouard Bellemare received only one game for a dangerous hit from behind that sent Capitals’ defenseman Dmitry Orlov head first into the boards. Suspensions are much harder to come by in the postseason.
Letang capped off the night with an empty-net goal which sealed Pittsburgh’s 3-1 victory. The Penguins now lead the Rangers 2-1 in the series with game four scheduled for Thursday night in New York.