Dominic James injured after knee on knee from Arber Xhekaj.

A controversial incident in Game 1 could have a significant impact on this series.

On Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning kicked off their opening round Stanley Cup playoff series but it wouldn't be long before controversy would rear its ugly head.

That controversy would come in the form of a collision between Canadiens enforcer Arber Xhekaj and Lightning forward Dominic James, one that appears to have left James seriously injured.

The collision would occur behind the player and appear to be a knee on knee or leg on leg type of collision between the two men. It appeared as though neither man saw the other, with their two legs colliding hard and James collapsing to the ice immediately following the contact. In fact Xhekaj may have been bumped along the boards before colliding with James, making this look very much like an unfortunate accident rather than any intentional malice on the part of Xhekaj.

James looked to be in bad shape and could be seen screaming in pain on the ice as he struggled to get back to his feet. James was helped by his teammates back to the Lightning bench but appeared to still be in a great deal of pain as he hopped down the tunnel on one leg.

James had only just returned to action, last playing for the Lightning all the way back in February, missing the entire month of March due to injury. Hopefully this looked worse than it was.

Update: James is back on the ice after briefly leaving the game.