"I couldn't believe it was actually possible [Timonen] got up and finished the game," Hartnell said.
But Kunitz said he was just playing his game.
"It's just the way I play hockey," he said. "I go in straight lines, want to finish checks and go to the net and puck retrieval. These types of things that coaches tell me is good for me to play my game - I just try to do that every night."
The hit didn't prompt a call from the referees and it was reviewed by the league, according to Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, who said all hits are reviewed.
"Nothing is going to come of it," was all Holmgren would say.
But the play seemed to justify the Flyers' belief that at times there is a different level of justice for them compared to their opponents. Daniel Carcillo's hit to the back of Max Talbot's head in Game 1 deserved the one-game suspension, but the Kunitz hit looked like a direct attempt to injure another player - and Kunitz was left undisciplined.
The league has talked about eliminating headshots from the game, and Kunitz went very high on Timonen.
Flyers coach John Stevens said he had no doubt of the intent.
"It was an intense game, and I think Kimmo saw him coming and he had to get rid of the puck so he didn't have time to prepare to get hit like that," Stevens said.
"The angle I saw, there were three guys all together and it was a hard, hard hit, and my only concern is if there was a hit to the head there.
"It didn't look like he left his feet and I didn't hear from anybody else that there was an elbow or anything, but it was a hard, hard hit."
Penguins star Sidney Crosby defended his linemate.
"He's a pit bull," Crosby said of Kunitz, whom the Penguins acquired from Anaheim on Feb. 25. "Usually, he's either hitting or being hit. He plays the perfect game for the playoffs."
