The Pittsburgh Penguins did not agree with a penalty against Kris Letang that may have cost them two points.

PITTSBURGH – It didn’t take much time for some blood to boil between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers. Within the opening minute, Matthew Tkachuk began attempting to get under the Penguins skin and for the three periods, plus an overtime, there was plenty of nastiness.

Penguins’ defenseman Kris Letang is known to play with a ton of passion, and he quickly became a target all night. One of the main reasons Letang became a target, however, was an unfortunate situation that earned him a double minor penalty in the second period.

Letang was already being called for a tripping penalty when he and Panthers' captain Aleksander Barkov made incidental contact. Letang gave a shove sending Barkov into the boards awkwardly. Barkov laid stunned on the ice for a few moments before stammering to the locker room.

Barkov eventually returned to the game, but Letang was under attack by the Panthers for the rest of the night, including a little shoving match in the overtime period.

Letang stands by that he did not hit him and obviously didn’t mean to injure one of the league’s most underrated players on what he described as a pretty soft play.

“I was going to the puck and Barkov kind of stepped in front of me so I peeled off,” Letang said. “I just put my hand on him, either my skate clipped him and his foot got caught. I did not hit him, that’s for sure.”

The Penguins knew they were going to get a physical game against Florida and were ready for some heated moments. Head coach Mike Sullivan fell in the same boat, but questioned the reaction they gave Letang after the play with Barkov.

“I don’t know what everybody was upset about, it was barely contact,” Sullivan said. “It was incidental contact. Wasn’t even a penalty, in my opinion… Tanger’s playing hockey.”

Letang was initially handed a five-minute major for his actions, but they were reduced to a four-minute double minor. The Panthers ended up scoring and taking a 2-1 lead during that power play. That goal proved to be a huge difference maker as the Penguins played from behind until the final minute when Evgeni Malkin scored to tie the game and force overtime.

The Panthers eventually got the last laugh with a win in the shootout and Barkov scoring on his opportunity. The Penguins played a much-improved game for themselves, but fell just short of sealing an important two points.

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