NHL playoff scores 2016: Injuries and rough hits mar opening of Eastern Conference Final

It's probably best that the NHL doesn't schedule any more games on Friday the 13th.

The opening game of the Eastern Conference Final between the Lightning and Penguins was bound to be filled with emotion, but this was a whole different matter entirely. In the 60-minute game, four separate players were injured on plays ranging from reckless and suspension-worthy to freaky and scary.

For starters, Ryan Callahan's elbow to the head of Kris Letang that sent the Penguins' best defenseman flying into the boards should no doubt be a suspension. It's a textbook example of the hits the NHL wants gone from the league and though Callahan clearly saw the numbers of Letang, he rode him into the boards anyway. Though Callahan was not tossed from the game -- somehow -- the Lightning should prepare to spend at least a game without him in the lineup.

Chris Kunitz's hit on Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat's boarding of Brian Dumoulin will likely not get suspensions, based on what's been allowed by the Department of Player Safety so far in these playoffs. Both hits resulted in injury time lost in the game, but it's hard to gauge what -- if any -- supplemental discipline they'll get as Kunitz's didn't warrant a penalty and Palat's was just a minor.

The real scare, however, was Ben Bishop's injury in the middle of the first that had the netminder stretchered off. Bishop, who injured his groin in the Stanley Cup Final last year and played off and on for the Lightning in that series, clearly tweaked something in his knee falling over in the blue paint.

The game from that point on had a whole new feel to it, as if a black cloud had fallen over the Consol Energy Center. Players were suddenly more injury-prone than any game we've seen this entire season, and the game couldn't end quick enough for both sides and their fans. Yet, it did and the Lightning were victorious despite losing their starting netminder and No. 1 centerman for good portions of this game.

Now, no more games on Friday the 13th please?

Lightning 3, Penguins 1

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1. It was a battle of the young backups, and Vasilevskiy took Round 1

Thanks to Bishop's injury, Andrei Vasilevskiy had to hold down the fort in goal for the Lightning. It certainly helped that the Lightning defense allowed just four shots to get through in the remaining minutes in the first, but the netminder was comfortable enough to stop all 16 in the final 20. Don't look now, but we might see a series of 21-year-old backups for the remainder of the Eastern Conference Final should Bishop be unable to return.

2. Jonathan Drouin has come a long way

It seems so long ago that Drouin was being suspended from the Lightning organization due to missed games. Gone are the days of unsustainable play and streaky goalscoring, as Drouin has become one of the key pieces in Steven Stamkos' absence. The winger had a big-time goal in the second period that effectively put the game out of reach from the Penguins, and he looked good doing it.

3. Sidney Crosby is still making an impact

Much has been said about Sidney Crosby's scoring drought for the Penguins this postseason. The Pittsburgh captain has just three goals, and his last came two series ago against the Rangers on April 21. Still, he's been effective out there in other ways, as his nifty no-look through the legs pass to Patric Hornqvist set up the Penguins' only goal of the game.

Bishop's X-rays came back negative for anything structurally wrong to the netminder, but it's no doubt that he was hurting after this play that took him out of the game.

Remember Tony, AKA @soloucity on Twitter, who fell in love with hockey during the Blues/Blackhawks Game 7? We're dedicating a section in our recaps to the gems of his Twitter account during the playoffs.