MONTREAL – Another spearing incident involving Boston Bruins winger Milan Lucic had members of the Montreal Canadiens front office fuming in the wake of Game 3.
The play went largely undetected in the third period of Montreal’s 4-2 victory Tuesday night. After carrying the puck into the offensive zone and having it knocked off his stick by Alexei Emelin, Lucic jabbed the Habs defenceman in the stomach with 12:05 remaining in the game. He wasn’t penalized.
Those two players have a long history of run-ins with one another, including a March 24 incident where Lucic speared Emelin between the legs – a play he wasn’t punished for. The NHL then fined Lucic $5,000 in the first round after he viciously speared Detroit Red Wings defenceman Danny Dekeyser between the legs on April 18.
At that time, interim league disciplinarian Stephane Quintal didn’t feel that he could levy a suspension against Lucic because he hadn’t received a warning from the department of player safety following the first Emelin incident. However, the Bruins forward acknowledged to reporters that he was a repeat offender when it came to spearing.
“I’ve been in the league for seven years, and I think I’ve only done that three times,” he said. “I don’t know why I did it.”
The NHL was aware of the latest incident, but no discipline hearing had been scheduled for Lucic as of late Wednesday morning, according to a source.
Montreal leads the series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Thursday night.
Lucic is part of a Bruins top line that has struggled to create offence at even strength against the Habs thus far. He is third on the team in playoff scoring with seven points in eight games this spring.
