During tonight’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens, Tyler Johnson took a very heavy, illegal check after the whistle by Montreal defenseman Greg Pateryn into the end boards. Pateryn was served a game misconduct and a five-minute major penalty for boarding.
The hit, which caused Johnson to miss the remainder of the game and casts doubt on his availability going forward, left head coach Jon Cooper visibly upset following the game.
“The one thing about this game, and why we all love this game is there is honor and there is respect,” Cooper said. “And that kid had a blatant disregard for both.”
Cooper had little news to share about Johnson’s condition, saying, “Hopefully he is going to be OK.”
This definitely is not what the Lightning had expected or wanted to come from the final game of the regular season. Perhaps the one silver lining is that they will have several days to rest, with the postseason expected to begin either Wednesday or Thursday.
