What all ails Hornqvist after Game 3? taken in Tampa, Fla. (Penguins)

BylinesDK_1-25-16
TAMPA, Fla. -- Patric Hornqvist fluctuated between feisty and frustrated throughout the Penguins' 4-2 victory over the Lightning in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final, especially when it looked like his left hand might have been badly hurt blocking a shot.

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But the team's first-line right winger also walked out of Amalie Arena late Wednesday night with a smile on his face and nothing at all -- no cast, no bandage -- on the hand.

I asked how he was doing, and he knew what I meant.



"Good, good, good," Hornqvist came back in a semi-chipper tone.

Take all that for what it's worth, because there wasn't much more. All Mike Sullivan would offer: "He did leave the bench. We'll probably know more tomorrow."

Here's what's known now: With 7:08 remaining in the third period, Hornqvist lowered his body slightly to get in the way of a shot from the left point by Tampa Bay's Alex Killorn. The puck appeared to strike the top of the left hand:

 photo hornyinjury_zpst7frgna1.gif

That's generally one of the safer spots on a hockey glove, but Hornqvist buckled, dropped his stick and immediately went to the bench, holding that hand behind his back.

Now to the feisty parts of his night.

This happened in the third period on the Penguins' bench:

 photo sidhorny_zpserfjrzln.gif

There's nothing to see here, really, from the team standpoint. Emotions are high, and Hornqvist is like this with everyone at times, truth be told. It's almost unthinkable that someone who agitates so much on the ice wouldn't agitate, to some degrees, in other walks of life. Hornqvist plays on the edge, lives on the edge.

Again, within the team structure, it's legitimately no big deal.

"That's pretty common," Crosby said on the subject with a small laugh. "You know, we're both pretty intense. I think anyone will tell you who watches a lot of our games, that's fairly common. We don't want that to happen too often, but we usually forget about it pretty quickly and move on."

As if to fortify that, a tweet from the Penguins' official account described Crosby as giving the team's post-victory warrior helmet in the locker room to Hornqvist, with the captain saying, "He's a warrior."

“He’s such a battler, such a warrior," Rust said. "I just hope he’s OK.”

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