Tyler Johnson was listed on the official game sheet for Game 4 of the Lightning-Penguins series, but he was not on the bench at the start of the game. Why not? He took a puck to the face during pre-game warmup (video above).
When Johnson did return to the bench shortly after puck drop, he arrived with a full cage.
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As Scott Oake said just before the game began, the lineup was released late so it wasn’t clear whether or not Johnson would play. But these are the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so it would have taken a major injury for Johnson to miss the game.
What’s up with players taking pucks to the face in warmups in this series? It’s the second time this has happened. If you remember, Patric Hornqvist took a pre-game puck in the head in Pittsburgh.
So much for home-ice advantage.
