PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma wasnt thrilled with Scott Hartnell going after Kris Letang, saying off-handedly that the Philadelphia Flyers forward was "picking on a guy who had a stroke." In the third period of Saturdays game, Hartnell hit Letang, who was playing his second game back after suffering a stroke in January. Each player was given a two-minute minor for roughing as they mixed it up after the whistle. After the Flyers 4-3 overtime win, Bylsma was asked if -- even though doctors assured the team and the 26-year-old defenceman that hockey would not put him more at risk for another stroke -- he had a little pause seeing Hartnell and Letang shoving each other. "I did have that thought when that was going on there," said Bylsma. "(Letang) kind of had the play there and the puck on his skate to try to score a goal. It fell off his stick and the whistle and everything ensued after that. Yeah it does, a guy picking on a guy who had a stroke." A team spokeswoman said Bylsma was joking when he made that remark. Told of Bylsmas comment regarding Hartnell without the benefit of much context, Flyers coach Craig Berube fired back. "Then he shouldnt play," Berube said. "He shouldnt be out there playing, bottom line. Its a stupid comment." Letang, who scored 10 minutes later, said its "part of the game." "I got hit from behind, I turn around and it was him," Letang said. "I was not really shocked. but things happen in the game fast. I dont regret (it)." Hartnell declined comment through a team spokesman. Letang and Hartnell have something of a history dating to an Oct. 8, 2009 incident in which the Penguins defenceman accused the Flyers forward of biting his right ring finger. NOTE -- Flyers goaltender Steve Mason left the game with what the team called an upper-body injury, which resulted from being crashed into by two players. Penguins forward Jayson Megna pushed Flyers defenceman Andrew MacDonald into Mason at the 16:27 mark of the second period, and the goalies head snapped back and then appeared to hit the ice. Mason remained in the game until the intermission, but then Ray Emery replaced him to start the third. Berube said Mason was being taken out as a precaution and expects him to be ready for Game 1 of Philadelphias first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers on Thursday. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys ... as usual. Even with the salary cap being set lower than many general managers expected and hoped for at $69 million and whats considered a shallow pool of top-end players available, this unrestricted-free-agent period figures to follow the familiar script of teams bidding up prices to keep up with each other. Wholesale Blue Jackets Jerseys . -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. http://www.cheapbluejacketsjerseys.com/.com) - Guard Greivis Vasquez and forward Patrick Patterson, two key pieces to the Toronto Raptors run to an Atlantic Division title in 2013-14, were both given qualifying offers by the team on Saturday. Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys . To get things started, heres a little photo tour to get you acquainted with all the main characters. Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Authentic . His Chicago Blackhawks teammates werent shocked when he found it. Kanes career has been defined by his brilliance in the Blackhawks biggest moments, and his tiebreaking goal with 3:45 to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals will rank among the best.EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Keith Appling put together an impressive performance after a poor one. Appling scored 16 of his career-high tying 27 points in the first half to help No. 5 Michigan State pull away and rout New Orleans 101-48 Saturday. The senior point guard, playing with a hip pointer, was held to four points on 2-for-11 shooting with just two assists in last weeks 14-point win at Texas. "I was able to get a couple of days off over Christmas break and rest up," Appling said. "That helped my body heal. Now, my hip feels 100 per cent." Appling equaled the career high in scoring he set last month against Oklahoma, a fact that didnt surprise New Orleans coach Mark Slessinger. "Being from the Midwest, Im still a Big Ten junkie and I watch Big Ten stuff," said Slessinger, who is from Bloomington, Ind. "Hes always been underrated nationally. We didnt stop him in transition and he played a very, very efficient game." Appling matched a season high with eight assists, had only one turnover and grabbed five rebounds against the Privateers. "The biggest thrill was Keith coming off one of his worst games, really bounced back," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. The Spartans (11-1) struggled for several minutes against New Orleans (3-5) before taking control with a 12-0 run midway through the first half. They led 44-27 at halftime and easily added to their comfortable cushion in the second half with 57 more points, finishing with their highest-scoring game since beating Nebraska-Omaha 110-68 two years ago. "Once we got on track, there were some bright spots," Izzo said. The Privateers had won two straight, including their previous game at UTEP. New Orleans Matt Derenbecker scored 16 and Cory Dixon had 11 points. "We took some ill-timed shots that were outside of our game plan," Slessinger said. "We wanteed to shorten the game and make it almost a little ugly and really try to work the clock and try to get the best shot we could.dddddddddddd. We got out of our comfort zone and our game plan for this game and that allowed them to make runs." Gary Harris scored 19, Adreian Payne had 17 points and Denzel Valentine had 10 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and six assists for the Spartans in their final tuneup before beginning the Big Ten season Tuesday night at Penn State. Michigan State rested starting forward Branden Dawson because of a shin bruise. "He got kicked in the shin (Friday) on a drill," Izzo said, adding he probably couldve played Saturday. The Spartans also let centre Matt Costello watch one more game even though he was cleared to play. Costello missed his fourth straight game with mononucleosis, but is expected to play a little in the conference opener. Reserve centre Kenny Kaminski will be eligible to add depth against the Nittany Lions after serving an academic-related, three-game suspension. "I like the direction were heading," Izzo said. "I just need more consistency, but when you dont get practice with everybody for three weeks, you shouldnt be totally surprised by the lack of consistency." Harris responded with a poor start against New Orleans with a solid game offensively. The sophomore shooting guard was 0 for 5 before a second straight 3-pointer capped Michigan States pivotal run that gave it a 21-10 lead. Before the burst, the Spartans had more turnovers (six) than made shots (four) against a fired-up team aiming for an upset. New Orleans, a Southland Conference school, couldnt sustain its early success and fell to 7-30 against ranked teams. "We started off kind of sluggish," Appling said. "We didnt cover things exactly to way we wanted, but the big thing is that we finished strong." 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