Bobby McMann saw red when buddy Dakota Mermis was hurt.<\/p>\n
Then he saw white, as in the first Tampa Bay Lightning foe to give him grief in the scrum that followed Gage Goncalves\u2019 knee-on-knee hit of Mermis on Monday.<\/p>\n
Thursday he saw the view from the stands, serving a one-game NHL suspension<\/a> for his one-handed stick swing at the shoulder and head of Tampa\u2019s Oliver Bjorkstrand. After McMann\u2019s time-out, while he and the Maple Leafs grumbled that Goncalves did not face a league hearing, he conceded better judgment was called for in the heat of the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an emotional game and things happen,\u201d McMann said Friday as he was re-activated to face the Edmonton Oilers<\/a>. \u201cYou make quick, emotional decisions and hope the league handles it the right way.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was nothing malicious about it, I obviously wasn\u2019t trying to injure anybody (he has a clean record with the league) and luckily nobody was hurt. In those battles, the hands get high and things can escalate, that\u2019s what it was.<\/p>\n \u201cYou look at where it all started and think you want to be there for a teammate. That\u2019s the biggest thing, the attention should be looked at where it started.\u201d<\/p>\n The department of player safety begged to differ and in the end, McMann had to be happy he just missed playing San Jose, as opposed to his home-province Oilers. Many family and friends will be watching Saturday in Wainwright, Alta.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really see this game on the schedule, or I\u2019d been sweating a little more (at the hearing),\u201d McMann laughed. \u201cMaybe there\u2019s a few more eyeballs on this one. But you don\u2019t want to miss any games.\u201d<\/p>\n McMann was replaced by William Nylander on Thursday on the line with Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua<\/a>, but coach Craig Berube wouldn\u2019t commit to keeping it for the weekend.<\/p>\n