Stalberg denies Letang apologized for high stick

NEW YORK -- Sometimes it's not enough to be sorry.

The Rangers' Viktor Stalberg denied Thursday morning that the Penguins' Kris Letang had apologized for his high stick in Game 3, as Letang had said Wednesday that he did.

"Well, when I was skating by the bench, I said, ‘Sorry,’ Letang said Wednesday. "I didn’t even know at the time if I hit him or if I hit Dominic Moore behind me. I got hit, and I was off balance and leaning forward. I just said, ‘Sorry’ to the guy."

Between that and the NHL clearing Letang from any possible supplementary discipline Wednesday -- the league ruled it was accidental because of Letang being hit by Moore in the same sequence -- it would have appeared that the story blew over.



But Stalberg, in his first public appearance since being bloodied and losing three teeth, had plenty to say.



Asked if it were true that Letang apologized: “No, that’s not. I haven’t heard from him. Obviously, I couldn’t care less if I did or not. It’s part of the game, part of the playoffs. We’re not looking to put any focus on this. We have to be better tonight."

Asked what he saw on the sequence: “I didn’t really see what happened on the ice, but watching the replay, it’s kind of a dangerous play. I’m lucky I didn’t get it worse. But stuff happens quickly out there.”

Asked if it should have been a penalty: “Yeah, of course it’s a penalty, no matter how you look at it. But, again, things happen fast out there. They’re going to miss stuff. It’s going to happen both ways, so you can’t really dwell on that too much. But obviously, that’s the frustrating part. That time of the game, it would have been big for us to get a four-minute power play.”

Asked if he felt lucky to lose only the three teeth: “Yeah. He didn’t catch me too, too badly, so I’m fortunate there. Things happen out there. Guys get hurt all the time."

Letang didn't participate in the Penguins' optional skate Thursday, so he wasn't available to reporters. But fellow defenseman Ian Cole told DKPittsburghSports.com that he heard Letang apologize to Stalberg, and that he heard that before he even knew why Letang was apologizing. Cole described Letang's apology as loud.