When Calgary Flames forward Milan Lucic received a match penalty last night for colliding with Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mike Smith, it came with an automatic review from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. It appears as though there will be nothing more to come from the incident, as Emily Kaplan of ESPN tweets that there will not be supplementary discipline from the league.
The 15 minutes of penalties that Lucic was officially credited with were nearly twice as many as he actually played last night, as the veteran forward has been pushed down into a very limited role so far in the series. In three games he has yet to record a shot on net against his former team and now has racked up 21 penalty minutes in the second-round series.
Smith, meanwhile, was forced from the game by concussion spotters but returned a few minutes later to wild applause from the Rogers Place crowd. The Oilers managed to win the game and take a 2-1 series lead, with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evander Kane once again leading the way offensively.
Some fans will remember another collision between Lucic and a goaltender that did not result in a suspension, though the two incidents came in very different on-ice situations.
The two teams will be back at it Thursday night.
Kane success is NHL’s worse nightmare
I thought protecting player safety was supposed to be a point of the department of player safety but this clearly shows the name of the department is a farce.
not a Oilers or flames fan but if what Lucic did doesn’t warrant a suspension, what does?
Honestly as an Oiler’s fan, I don’t think it deserves a suspension. As I was watching the game, I didn’t feel like he was intentionally trying to injure Smith.
Lucic did nothing wrong, Not sure why the play Is getting this much attention.
Exactly, he pulled up. Anyway, if the goalie wants to play like a 3rd defenseman the opponent should be able to treat him like a 3rd defenseman or he should stay in his crease.
I remember Smith having a similar play
against the Blackhawks in the 2011 playoffs
Forcing Lucic to play is punishment enough for the Flames.
I like Lucic alright and I still find your comment hilarious
Same. Huge Bruins & Lucic fan, yet reading this still got me chuckling hard