Boston Bruins: 2011-2012

[trevor13478 1]

I was at the game, so didn't really see the slo-mo replays or anything from the broadcast. I understand that you can't hit the goalie, but Miller charged out of his net and they both got to the puck at the same time, looked like both were trying to make a play on the puck. I'm not a rules expert, but I didn't see anything too far out of line. Now, when I saw Millers helmet pop off I was expecting all 5 sabres to go after Lucic and it was almost like they started to go after him, but everyone was too scared to stand up to Lucic once they realized who it was. I couldn't help thinking that if anybody had skated into Thomas like that they would have gotten mauled. The other part that chapped my ass was Miller's comments after the game. He made a big deal about how much bigger than him Lucic is, when Gerbe gets hit does he go and say that it wasn't fair because the other guy is bigger than him? St. Louis? even Montreal's lollipop guild don't do that. If you're going to charge out against a guy like that you need to be aware that there's a change you're going to collide. Obviously, Lucic could have held up, but Miller could have stayed in his crease. I don't have a beef with the penalty because we do need to protect the goalies, but I don't think it should be anything more than that because he was playing the puck.

EDIT: just watched the replay, it does look like Lucic had his arms up, deliberately making contact with Miller, so I retract my statement about playing the puck. And that just makes it even worse on the Sabres that they did nothing, even over the course of the rest of the game nobody challenged Lucic. I still take issue with Miller's comments though, he should be blaming his own teammates for not standing up for him, rather than calling Lucic a piece of shit

[Steve_v3 289]

The real issue is buffalo not caring.

That is what caught me off guard. I was totally expecting a much bigger response from them. Buffalo has been such a better team since the change of ownership last year.

I think he needs to talk to the rest of his team.

[hellkitty 0]

Hitting the goalie is such a gray area but i think Lucic should have at least made it look less obvious with the hit. As for Buffalo i can't believe they didn't respond to that hit.

[jbss71 1]

Miller has been running his face all season. Maybe this will be Roy 2.0

[jbss71 1]

Tsn reports lucic has a hearing set for the hit. Imo miller wasn't around the blue paint so the call on the ice should be all.. discuss!

[Powerfibers 8]

Local Buffalo station WGR550 reports that Miller is out indefinitely with a concussion.

[Chadd 916]

Tsn reports lucic has a hearing set for the hit. Imo miller wasn't around the blue paint so the call on the ice should be all.. discuss!

First of all, the whole "discuss!" thing is obnoxious. What the hell else are people going to do on an internet forum?

As for the play, a goalie is not fair game to get hit. It doesn't matter where he is in relation to the crease, you can't drill him. It should have been at least a major penalty and I think a suspension is in order. Allowing someone to run a goalie and only get a minor for knocking out a starting goalie is a very bad precedent to set.

[Axxion89 32]

4 game suspension +- 1 game. Lucic had every intention to hit him and his pushing off with his arms for the follow through proves it, if it was an accident the follow through after collision would be much different. Goalie's are protected outside the blue paint as well and they are not fair game, otherwise a lot of goalies would be run to negate a hot goalie (Pretty sure the Canucks would have done that to Thomas to get him out of the net in the playoffs if it was legal, just a thought)

Also, Miller has a history of concussions right? I don;t know if he still uses the same mask but if he is, he should consider a change or something, would not be good to have his career in jeopardy.

[Steve_v3 289]

I could see a one game suspension. He definitely intended to hit him. He did follow through with his arms. He should have at least pretended to avoid him.

I heard on the radio today fans saying it wasn't a big deal but if that happened to Thomas Those same people would be screaming for a suspension. Although the Bruins would have handled it a lot different on the ice.

[Joshison 1]

I'm amazed Buffalo never retaliated. reminds me of when Cooke hit Savard and no one responded.

[Chadd 916]

This is a great story

[Jason Harris 31]

I wasn't able to watch the game, so I'm only going off videos I've seen this morning. As tragic as it is that Miller suffered a concussion, I think this is being somewhat overblown because of what resulted from the collision.

Lucic had three options on that play:

1) He could have veered off sooner and conceded the puck to Miller.

2) He could have continued chasing the puck, since it was tantalizingly close to both players, then veered off at the last second after Miller beat him to the puck. Based on the replays, it looks like there still would have been contact, but a more glancing blow. But even a glancing blow, because of the angle of Miller's head after he shot the puck, could have resulted in a side shot to the head and a concussion.

3) He could have continued his path and ran into the player who had played the puck just two-tenths of a second earlier. In this case, the other player was a goalie, but how many times do we see a player make contact with a player who just passed a puck tenths of a second earlier? Twenty to twenty-five times a game? More?

I think number two would have been the correct play for Lucic, but only because the other player was a goalie. There still would have been contact, yet because Lucic would have been slightly to his left, the contact actually might have been solely toward's Miller's head. But that would have been the better play considering the emphasis the league places on protecting a goal.

Other than that, Lucic made a hockey play we see all game, every game.

[Chadd 916]

Jason, he did concede the puck to Miller and had plenty of time to alter his course. Had he continued chasing the puck and made contact, it would have been much less of an issue.

[Joshison 1]

BTW how do we know the concussion didn't happen when Seguin was tossed into the net soon after.

[jbss71 1]

First of all, the whole "discuss!" thing is obnoxious. What the hell else are people going to do on an internet forum?

i agree 100% just trying to stir up this thread.

I'm amazed Buffalo never retaliated. reminds me of when Cooke hit Savard and no one responded.

they did the next game. which makes the 23rd a hell of a game, unless he gets 5 games of course.

[trevor13478 1]

Chadd, that was a great moment, I was at that game and the whole place went nuts when he came out. Every game they do an "8-spoked salute" where they honor the family of a local soldier and they get a standing ovation, but I've never heard it like that. Great moment, great thing for the organization to do.

and I will add, to the Lucic point. I do think he needs to be suspended for a game or 2. Shannahan can use this to send a message that goaltenders can't be touched. However, Miller should be fined for his postgame comments, and the Sabres should be disciplined for allowing Miller to continue to play after the hit, he came back and played another period and a half after his "concussion". What happened to his 15 minutes in the dark room if this is really a concussion? Why was he allowed to stick around post-game and talk to the media if he has a concussion? I'm calling BS on the concussion, the Sabres just want to get Lucic suspended, knowing that the injury impacts the punishment unfortunately at this time.

[crazyhick 19]

BTW how do we know the concussion didn't happen when Seguin was tossed into the net soon after.

My thought exactly, Seguin's shoulder hit Miller's head pretty dead on after he had gotten tripped up and went into the net at full speed

[dangle 0]

No suspension for Lucic per NHL.com

[Steve_v3 289]

No suspension for Lucic per NHL.com

A little surprised.

Look out for the river of tears coming from Buffalo though.

[jbss71 1]

A little surprised.

Look out for the river of tears coming from Buffalo though.

aslong as i dont lose power for a week it can pour tears!!!

[chippa13 1844]

It might have been tough to suspend Lucic without addressing Miller's stick swing that luckily didn't connect.

[psh 25]

This is a direct quote from rule 69.4:

A goalkeeper is not “fair game” just because he is outside the goal crease. The appropriate penalty should be assessed in every case where an attacking player makes unnecessary contact with the goalkeeper. However, incidental contact will be permitted when the goalkeeper is in the act of playing the puck outside his goal crease provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such unnecessary contact.

I admire Shanahan as a player and generally approve of how he has handled his new position, but how he didn't find any suspension appropriate is inconceivable to me. You have a clear rule, no effort to avoid contact, an injury, indeed a concussion if Buffalo is to be believed, and a situation ripe for ugly retaliation.

I'll give Lucic the benefit of the doubt and say he didn't target Miller's head. But there is no doubt he wanted to skate through Miller and blow him up. There was no effort to avoid Miller, nor was there an attempt to play the puck. That is a flagrant violation of Rule 69.4 in letter and spirit.

What troubles me most is that this is a Bertuzzi/Moore incident waiting to happen. And Miller's statement will add fuel to the fire. I sincerely hope Miller recovers fully and rapidly. I also hope that Thomas doesn't become collateral damage in the wake of Lucic's gutless run on Miller. It's all too easy to imagine a marginal skater trying to earn his stripes by targeting Thomas's knee or head.

The saddest irony is that arguably the 2 best American goalies playing could go down, and half of the damage could be laid, in part, at Shanahan's feet for simply failing to acknowledge a straight forward rule in the book he is supposed to be enforcing.

Shanahan's statement is now on TSN and it is incoherent. He acknowledges that Lucic did not try avoid Miller, but thinks the penalty was sufficient. No reference to the rule and then an attempt to say Lucic (whose name he can't pronounce) is blameless because he didn't know where he was on the ice. No discussion of the fact Miller did not possess the puck at the moment of contact. The statement does not inspire confidence.

[wrangler 157]

I understand that a goalie is not "fair game", but neither should he be able to go anywhere and do anything he wants with the expectation that no one will ever touch him, no matter the circumstances.

It looked to me like Lucic didn't even try to go through Miller. I thought his right side hit Miller's left side from behind, and that's why Miller spun, rather than going straight. I didn't notice an obvious effort on the part of either player to avoid the contact, and it looked to me as though Miller may have leaned to his left, anticipating the impact. It appeared to me that Lucic used his right arm and shoulder to shrug off the contact. Did he have time to veer left and avoid the impact? Did Miller have an opportunity to do so, rather than just turning slightly to present his back? I don't have those answers.

[chrisk 1]

I agree with Shanahan's decision. Lucic is a big guy and was skating full speed to the puck. He is not known for agility. Miller left his crease at full speed to play the puck. Right before the collision, it looks like Miller turned his body and shoulder towards Lucic. He is not exactly innocent. How can you avoid that?

[start_today 770]

It was a dumb play by Lucic, because it could have at least been partially avoided, and since the Bruins rely so much on Thomas, he's not a player you can afford to lose. I spent the rest of the game waiting for Kaleta to straight up run Thomas and go right for his head.

I understand that a goalie is not "fair game", but neither should he be able to go anywhere and do anything he wants with the expectation that no one will ever touch him, no matter the circumstances.

I don't think there's the expectation that "no one will ever touch him," you see contact frequently behind the net when goalies try to play the puck at the last second, but the rules state that the goalie can't be checked, there's not much of an argument. Goalies are pretty limited as to where they can go based on their equipment hindering their ability to skate quickly and not being able to play the puck very effectively, so you don't have to worry about them going wherever they want, by virtue of them putting their team ask risk to give up a goal.