May 7, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby (70) makes a save on Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) in the second period in game five of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Penguins did plenty of uncharacteristic things in their Game 5 loss to the Washington Capitals, from untimely penalties to really untimely turnovers. But one big difference from the previous games to this defeat was the lack of ice time for a key player in the third period.

Patric Hornqvist played only two shifts in the third period and played 10:36 for the game. This after scoring two goals and an assist in the previous two games.

His shift chart for the night:

View photos Hornqvist More

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was asked if Hornqvist was injured.

“No, we just shortened the bench,” he said. “We were trying to climb back into it. We went with the guys we thought were going and had some energy. So we tweaked the lines a little bit.”

It’s hard to imagine that Hornqvist was benched for effort. Perhaps this was an injury smokescreen? That cameo on the power play in the third might indicate that it was.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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