Chris Kreider comes to defense of Derek Stepan

Derek Stepan was blindsided. But Chris Kreider didn't let the hit go unpunished.

With less than five minutes remaining in the second period Saturday, Stepan's head snapped back from a high hit by the Senators' Zack Smith.

Within seconds, Kreider retaliated, dropping the gloves and grabbing Smith, landing a few punches, shoving him down and connecting with a few more rights in the process.

Kreider -- who had six penalty minutes in the previous 16 games -- drew 17 minutes in penalties: a 10-minute misconduct, five for fighting and a two-minute minor for instigation. Smith got five minutes for the fight and two for interference.

Stepan, who left the bench to be checked for a concussion, appreciated Kreider's immediate reaction.

"I never saw Zack coming," said Stepan, who returned for the third period. "All the contact was directly to my head. Fortunately, I'm OK. To see [Chris] do what he did, it's a good moment for me and Chris. It means a lot to me that he's willing to stand up for me."

Kreider, who scored a power-play goal in the first period of the 2-1 shootout win, said he'd "like to think anyone in the group would've done it. I understand the [instigator] rule, the ref explained it to me, but I don't necessarily agree with it. We [he and Smith] were kind of going at it coming up ice, if you watch the buildup, and then he was chasing me back up ice, saying something or other, probably trying to get me to fight and then he does that. I didn't look at it as an instigator."

Said coach Alain Vigneault: "He went to the aid of a teammate on a shot to the head, so I can only be . . . pleased about him stepping in."