Evening Snapshots: Hartman, Kase, Bonino, Werenski

To the surprise of many, Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Hartman will not face any supplemental punishment from the NHL after receiving a game misconduct in Game Two of the ’Hawk’s first-round series against the Nashville Predators. Hartman was tossed near the end of the game on Saturday night after checking Predators winger Craig Smith, a fully legal hit, but then then appearing to punch or cross-check Smith in the face while he was down, which is obviously not so legal.

Hartman’s motives were clear: the Blackhawks were down 5-0 with just over a minute to go and about to fall into an 0-2 hole as the top seed in the Western Conference. Hartman was frustrated with the circumstances, as his teammates surely were as well, but Hartman’s actions were an unacceptable way of exercising that frustration. However, NHL Player Safety deemed that it was not bad enough to warrant a fine or suspension and Hartman will be back in the Chicago lineup tomorrow for Game Three as the Blackhawks grasp for some semblance of hope against a suddenly dominant Nashville squad.

• Ondrej Kase will also be one the ice tomorrow for some Western Conference playoff action, or at least for morning skate. The Anaheim Ducks announced that they had recalled the young forward from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls and that he will join the team ahead of their Game Three contest in Calgary. The Czech left winger skated in 53 games with the Ducks in 2016-17 and recorded five goals and ten assists. There is no word yet on whether or not Kase’s recall was the result of any injury concerns among the Anaheim forwards or if they simply wanted to add another depth option up front, seeing as Jared Boll was the only extra forward for the first two games of the season.

• Both Nick Bonino and Zach Werenski avoided potentially serious injuries Sunday night when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets squared off in Game Three. Both players took pucks to the face early on in the game, but no long-term harm appears to have occurred. Bonino was struck right in the jaw and immediately dropped his stick and gloves and skated to the bench and down the tunnel. The initial thought was a broken jaw, but Bonino returned to the ice not much later with a jaw guard as the only notable change to his appearance. Werenski was not as lucky; the young defenseman took his shot square in the face and dropped to the ice for nearly 30 seconds (while the Penguins scored a goal). When Werenski finally got up and skated away, he left a trail of blood in his wake. Werenski returned later in the game with stitches on his face where a large cut once was and wore a full cage for the remainder of the game. Werenski also saw a major drop-off in ice time for the rest of the game and did not take a single shift in overtime, presumably due to the swelling around his eye. The Penguins went on to win 5-4 in OT.