During the Boston Bruins' 6-0 rout of the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon, Milan Lucic was given a five-minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct for this hit on Zac Rinaldo:
Rinaldo wasn't injured on the play and stayed in the game, adding 12 minutes in penalties to his total in the third period. The NHL called for a hearing with Lucic Monday morning, even as Rinaldo stated after the game that he didn't believe the hit was deserving of supplemental discipline.
From CSN Philly:
"It's hockey, you hit and go into the boards, I don't think it was dirty at all," Rinaldo said. "Shoulder-to-shoulder and just momentum. He's big guy, maybe double my weight. His momentum carried him into the boards awkwardly. I don't think it was dirty at all."
Brendan Shanahan and the NHL's Department of Player Safety disagreed with Rinaldo and assessed Lucic a 1-game suspension. He'll miss tonight's game against the Montreal Canadiens.
From the NHL:
Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic has been suspended, without pay, for one game for checking Philadelphia Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo from behind during NHL Game #466 in Philadelphia on Saturday, Dec. 17, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Lucic will forfeit $22,072.07. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
The incident occurred at 16:21 of the second period. A major penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct was assessed on the play.
Lucic will miss tonight's game vs. Montreal. He will be eligible to return Dec. 23 vs. Florida.
Here's the explanation:
Far out new studio, Shanny.
So this is where "repeat offender" status can come back and bite a player later on, even on a play that you may have thought was penalized enough with an ejection.
As Shanahan mentioned, Lucic was suspended one game during the 2009 playoffs for punching Maxim Lapierre and fined $2,500 for an incident with Freddy Meyer of the Atlanta Thrashers last December.
This suspension comes, of course, just a little over a month after Shanahan spoke with and cleared Lucic for the collision with Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres.
Botton line: Heed the warnings of Sheriff Shanahan boys or else your history will haunt you after you do something that normally wouldn't warrant a suspension.
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