Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak leaves Game 1 vs. Toronto with injury

TORONTO — Tampa Bay‘s Erik Cernak left Game 1 of the Lightning’s first-round playoff series against Toronto on Tuesday night after taking a hit to the head from Leafs forward Michael Bunting.

Bunting caught Cernak up high with his elbow midway through the second period. Cernak was down on the ice for several minutes while being attended to by the Lightning’s medical staff. He eventually went to Tampa Bay’s dressing room with support from teammates.

Officials reviewed the play while Cernak departed. Bunting was then assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head, making him ineligible to return for the rest of Game 1.

It’s possible Bunting will face further supplemental discipline from the NHL Player Safety Department. Toronto’s forward was already under scrutiny for logging a team-high 103 penalty minutes in the regular season and had resolved to play smarter to avoid putting the Leafs at a disadvantage. Instead, he did just that in Game 1 of a pivotal first-round series that Toronto was already trailing in 3-2 before losing a top-six winger.

Tampa Bay built its lead – which would stretch to 6-2 after 40 minutes in the eventual 7-3 victory – despite a parade of injuries. Prior to Cernak going down, the Lightning lost top-pairing defenseman Victor Hedman — who played his final shift in the first period and did not return for the second — and forward Michael Eyssimont early in the second after a hit from Toronto defenseman Jake McCabe.

No official updates had been provided on either player through two periods.

The Lightning jumped all over their opponent to take a 3-0 lead in the opening frame. Toronto responded with a pair of power play goals in the second before Tampa Bay came back with three straight scores, two from Brayden Point and one from Corey Perry.