Bruins' Brad Marchand licks Lightning's Ryan Callahan during Game 4 of playoff series
The Brad Marchand hot licks tour continues.
Friday night's stop was the face of the Tampa Bay Lightning's Ryan Callahan.
Marchand and Callahan went nose-to-nose after a whistle with 1:21 left in the second period. Then, Marchand leaned in for the lick on Callahan's face. The Lightning forward pushed him away.
The Lightning went on to win the game, 4-3, in overtime to take a 3-1 series lead back to Tampa for Sunday's Game 5.
The Boston Bruins star has made licking opponents a habit, and this is the second time Marchand has been caught licking another player during these Stanley Cup playoffs.
In Game 1 of the Bruins' first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Marchand was caught delivering a wet one to Leo Komarov. This had happened before between the two players. In November, Marchand kissed Komarov's cheek. No penalties were given out for this behavior.
After Marchand's moments with Komarov, multiple media reports suggested that the NHL told Marchand to stop licking other players. Marchand denied that he had heard from the league, and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to Paste BN Sports that the league hadn't contacted Marchand about the licking incident against the Maple Leafs.
Marchand might be hearing from the league after his latest lick.
"There's absolutely no place in our game for that. I don't understand it. I don't," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game. "How would you feel right now if I just walked over to you right now and just gave you one big lick right from the chin all the way up?"
After the game, Marchand tried to explain himself, saying, "He punched me four times in the face. He just kept getting close. Nothing big."
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