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No suspension for Lucic

Buffalo Sabres v Boston Bruins - Game Six

of the Buffalo Sabres of the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 26, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeated the Sabres 4-3 to win the series.

Elsa

Milan Lucic will not be suspended for running over Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller on Saturday.

So why did NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan have a hearing?

“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. “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.”

Lucic has said it wasn’t his plan to run over Miller.

“I blocked a shot and pushed the puck a little too far ahead of me and I skated after the puck as fast as I possibly could,” Lucic said, as per the Boston Herald. “ I looked up and he was still in his net. I looked down at the puck and was continuing on and the next thing I knew, I looked up and he’s coming out full speed at me.”

Not sure if Shanahan expected to get a Colonel Jessep-style confession out of Lucic during the hearing. If I’m a Sabres fan, the league’s dismissal of Lucic’s actions because Lucic said he didn’t mean to might not cut it with me.

I wager we’ll be hearing a few opinions about this decision in the next little while.