Lightning's Victor Hedman Wants To Move Past Alleged Bite From Blackhawks' Andrew Shaw
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman isn't interested in talking about the bite he believes he received from Chicago right wing Andrew Shaw in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Shaw and Hedman got tangled up late in the first period Wednesday night behind the Tampa Bay net after Hedman pushed Blackhawks star Patrick Kane into the boards just after play had been stopped on an officials' whistle.
After the scrum was broken up, Hedman was seen on the Lightning bench lifting his jersey to show a spot on his side to a team trainer. Hedman appeared to say that he had been bit.
"Obviously you see what I said," Hedman said after Friday's practice. "If you saw that, I don't have to say anymore."
Hedman made it clear he would prefer to focus on Game 2 on Saturday night.
After the Lightning's 2-1 loss Wednesday, Hedman said that it felt like he was bit, but couldn't say for sure that it did happen.
"He's a player that you want on your team," Hedman said of Shaw on Friday. "You want a player like that who gets under people's skin. He's just a great player. He's a big presence in front of the net. He's been very important for them. He stood up for Kane. I stood up for my goalie."
The NHL looked at video of the scrum, but hasn't issued any sanctions.
"It's a new game (Saturday)," Hedman said. "I want to be at my best. Let's focus (on Game 2). As a group, we are in the Stanley Cup Finals. We can't be focused on anything else."
The apparent bite is the latest in a strange history of playing using their teeth in the Stanley Cup Final.
Boston's Patrice Bergeron accused Vancouver's Alex Burrows of biting his finger during a scrum in Game 1 of the 2011 series. Burrows wasn't suspended when the NHL couldn't find conclusive evidence of a bite. A year earlier in 2010, Philadelphia's Daniel Carcillo accused Boston's Marc Savard of biting his finger. Carcillo now plays for the Blackhawks.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.