Boston Bruins winger Milan Lucic will not be suspended or fined by the NHL for his hit on Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller on Saturday night.
The Bruins forward had a disciplinary hearing over the phone on Monday with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan, who decided not to exact further punishment.
“I had the hearing because I did make an initial assessment of the play as I do with all plays, but I did have some questions for Milan and I wanted to hear directly from him,” Shanahan told NHL.com following the hearing. “They were regarding his intent; at what point did he know there was going to be a collision; and whether or not he felt he had the time to avoid the collision. I was satisfied with his answers.”
According to NHL.com, Shanahan said the minor penalty for charging was the proper call in this case because it follows Rule 42.1, which reads “a goalkeeper is not fair game just because he is outside the goal crease area.”
“The minor penalty called on the ice was the correct call,” Shanahan said. “And, while it’s unfortunate that Miller was hurt I saw nothing egregious about this hit that would elevate it to supplemental discipline.”
Lucic was issued a minor penalty for charging when he skated into Miller with 6:48 remaining in the first period of Saturday’s game. Both Lucic and Miller were going after a puck, and the collision occurred inside the faceoff circle. Miller stayed in for the remainder of the first period and played all of the second period before being replaced by Jhonas Enroth to start the third period. Miller allowed 3 goals on 10 shots in the second period.
Miller is out indefinitely with a concussion after being levelled by Lucic, and later responded by calling the Bruin’s act "gutless."
On Monday, according to ESPN, Lucic responded to Miller’s criticism: “For me, it’s in one ear and out the other.”
Miller was hurt about 14 minutes into the first period of a 6-2 loss at Boston on Saturday night, when he left his crease to play the puck before being checked by Lucic, who was attempting to chase down a loose puck. Lucic received a minor penalty for charging.
Miller continued playing through the end of the second period, before being pulled after allowing three goals on 22 shots.
The 2010 Vezina Trophy-winner did not return to the bench for the third period, but made sure to stick around to provide expletive-laden post-game comments.
“(Lucic has) 50 pounds on me and he runs me like that? It’s unbelievable,” Miller said. “Everyone in this city sees him as a big tough solid player. I respected him for how hard he played. That was gutless.”
Immediately after being hit, Miller used his stick to take a swipe at Lucic but missed.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said following the game that Miller had a sore neck.
This is the second concussion for Miller in a span of eight months. He missed four games late last season after being struck in the mask by shots in back to back outings.
Miller has struggled of late, having allowed 20 goals on 148 shots in going 1-5 in his past six starts.
The Sabres announced goalie Drew McIntyre had been called up from Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester. McIntyre is expected to serve as backup to Jhonas Enroth on Monday night at Montreal.
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