Another day, another controversial hit for the Bruins.
On Wednesday, Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid was ejected for a knee-on-knee hit on Ottawa's Nick Foligno, but was only fined $2,500 and not suspended after the league reviewed the incident.
On Saturday, it was Milan Lucic back in trouble for a questionable play against the Flyers in Philadelphia.
The Bruins forward was given a checking from behind major and a game misconduct at 16:21 for a hit on Philadelphia's Zac Rinaldo.
"I realize he was in a bit of a vulnerable position," Lucic said. "I looked and watched the tape again in slow-mo and looked at the point of contact and it was his shoulder more than anything. You could see him turning this way when he was going into the boards. The call is what it is. I'm just glad no one got hurt on the play and that we won here tonight."
Will Lucic receive a stiffer penalty from the league for this hit?
"[It's] out of my control," Lucic said when asked if he expected to hear from NHL dean of discipline Brendan Shanahan. "I mean, like I said, I just went over the points of what I saw in the video and how I went about it in the ice and I mean, I completely slowed up and everything like that. If he calls me it's out of my control. If he doesn't, great."
Lucic has already had one call with Shanahan, who chose not to suspend Lucic for his controversial hit on Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller last month. Lucic also was only fined and not suspended for a match penalty he received for a punch on Atlanta's Freddy Meyer last December, but did get suspended for one game in the playoffs in 2009 for a cross-check to the head of Montreal's Maxim Lapierre.
That past history could hurt his chances of getting off without supplemental discipline this time, though the hit on Rinaldo did not appear worthy of a suspension. Bruins coach Claude Julien certainly hopes he won't have to do without his top-line left wing for any games.
"I did and you know a couple things that come to mind," Julien said when asked if he had a chance to review the play. "He let up, I thought the player turned at the last second which to me appeared to be a hit from behind so there was no intent and guys let up and he did, so that's pretty obvious. So hopefully they'll look at it the same way we see it and go from there. When I looked at the replay on the jumbotron, I didn't see it as bad but referees have to make quick decisions. I get a chance to sit behind the bench and have a look so at the end of it, I'm hoping that the decision they made is the right one."
Helping Lucic's cause is the fact that Rinaldo was not injured on the play. He not only remained in the game, but actually engaged Nathan Horton in a fight in the scrum that ensued after Lucic's hit.
