Lucic hit - any chance of further discipline?

[Jethro Choicebro]

Lucic sums it up pretty well - starting at 4:20

(Paraphrasing)
"They made eye contact and he knew I was coming, there is responsibility on the hitter not to hit someone in a vulnerable position, and i have had guys thank me on the ice for not finishing a check on them, but there is also a responsibility to not put yourself in a vulnerable position."


Bonus game - drink every time he says vulnerable.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Jethro Choicebro

Bonus game - drink every time he says vulnerable.

It appeared Lucic had already been playing the drinking game based on his pronunciation of "vulnerable".

[Steve Macfarlane]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I don't think anyone is calling it a "good" hit.

The original point was the Kylington hit in comparison, which I felt was more dangerous, but because Kylington got up quickly it's only two minutes.

Assess them on how dangerous the decision/play was, not a quick response from the player that isn't proven.

The NHL definitely doesn't have it quite right yet when it comes to these hits. The blood is what led to the major penalty. Kylington is a punching bag in the corners and he might want to stay down for a few more seconds sometimes. The major call was technically correct but there's no fairness to these.

League got it right determining the penalty and ejection was plenty of punishment already.

[Classic_Sniper]

Thank goodness a suspension didn’t occur. Lucic has looked like quite the sniper this season, especially on the 4th line which has been productive as of late. This could ultimately be the difference in deciding a playoff series. When top lines cancel each other out, having a 4th line that can pot a few could make all the difference.

[Psytic]

4th line is great. Really makes me hope that the 3rd line picks it up though they could make or break this team in the playoffs in the same way. I think Tre looks for some scoring help on that line at the deadline this year.

[Gaskal]

I'm pleasantly surprised as I thought DOPS would stick him with a fine, or 1 game max based on all the factors leading to the hit. But Looch and Bieksa are right, there is responsibility on the hitter to avoid serious injury yet players need to protect themselves first and foremost because who knows what could happen? Especially in a game played at such high speed.

Bieksa called it well, if I see Looch coming at me like that I'm getting high on the boards so I just get smushed into the glass some instead of my head impacting the boards hard. Or, just sidestep entirely like Dumoulin or whoever it was last night.

[BlindMilwaukee]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Bieksa called it well, if I see Looch coming at me like that I'm getting high on the boards so I just get smushed into the glass some instead of my head impacting the boards hard. Or, just sidestep entirely like Dumoulin or whoever it was last night.

I agree 100%. The hitter shouldn't be looking to make cheap shots and be head hunting out there. However if the receiver of this kind of hit knows a hit is incoming, like Lucic the other night, you need to protect yourself. Players need to avoid putting themselves in bad positions like that. I can't think of a worse play Demelo could have made there.