WASHINGTON -- At 6-feet-7, Jamie Oleksiak probably doesn't have to worry much about 5-9 — at most — Brad Marchand getting in his face and licking him anytime soon.
And if Marchand or anyone did, the enormous defenseman says he doesn't know how he'd react. No, seriously.
"I don’t get licking on the mouth," Oleksiak was telling me after the Penguins' morning skate on Saturday as his team was preparing to take on the Capitals in Game 5. "Who knows what you’re (bleeping) transferring there? Do what you got to do but ... I don’t know. I was speechless when I saw it."
Count Oleksiak among the stunned that Marchand would do such a thing, twice in the same postseason, no less. The Bruins star and agitator planted a wet kiss on Toronto's Leo Komarov in the first round and did the same to Tampa Bay's Ryan Callahan on Friday night. The NHL is expected to announce an immediate cease-and-desist order on Marchand, who could then face a fine or possible suspension. The Bruins, who trail the Lightning 3-1 in their series, are a potential third-round opponent for the Penguins.
If that's the case, Riley Sheahan has a foolproof plan to avoid such nonsense. He doesn't open his mouth.
"I just try to keep my mouth shut so no one really says anything," he said. "Some guys just have it in them. It’s weird to me."
In the tiny visitor's locker room, Lickinggate — hey, when in Washington — the Marchand incident was all the talk. Tom Kuhnhackl, a German, was wondering if licking was some strange North American greeting that he'd been unaware of.
"I don’t think it should be in hockey that you lick someone, right?" Kuhnhackl said. "Playoffs is obviously intense games. Sometime you might say or do something that you might not mean to and you feel bad about it. But I don’t think (licking) should happen."
He says trash-talk and slashing are part of the game, but there has to be some things that are off-limits. Other than the fake staged fights that he and Bryan Rust do nearly every practice, Kuhnhackl has never received a five-minute fighting major in his career. Would that change if an opponent tried to run their tongue on his thick, ginger playoff beard?
"I could not tell you how I’d react," he said with a big smile. "I’ve never been in that situation before and hopefully it stays that way."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins morning skate, Washington, May 5, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS