After forward Tyler Johnson was forced from Saturday's regular-season finale against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper didn't have any kind words for defenseman Greg Pateryn, whose hit took Johnson out of the game.
Related: VIDEO: Lightning's Johnson injured after late hit by Canadiens' Pateryn
"That kid had a blatant disrespect for (honor and respect)," Cooper said of the hit, according to Erik Erlendsson of The Tampa Tribune. "That was egregious what happened and there is no place for it.
"Hopefully Johnson is going to be okay," he continued. "Those could be career-ending the way that went down."
Cooper added there is lots of concern for Johnson, and thought it wasn't surprising he was held out of a meaningless game.
" ... if this was a playoff game he couldn't have come back, so that's where he's at," he said.
The Lightning are expected to be without Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman to begin their playoff run. Victor Hedman, Ryan Callahan, and Nikita Kucherov all sat out Saturday, but should be back in the lineup for Game 1 against the Detroit Red Wings.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.