Milan Lucic Suspended for Game 3

So if you've been watching the NHL postseason like I have, then you should have heard that Boston Bruins young gun Milan Lucic(right) has been suspended for game 3. The NHL deemed his actions against Maxim LaPierre of the Canadiens late in the third period. As a Bruins fan I am pretty upset and aggravated about it based on the fact that you don't want to see a player who plays the way Lucic does not in the game espically when the game is being played in rival Montreal. Check out below to see the play that gave Lucic the suspension:



My initial thoughts: What a bunch of BULL. It does not look like Lucic is going for his head with his stick but rather proteching himself from getting swarmed by the whole line of the Hab's. But then after thinking about it for a little bit longer, the referees made the right call in doing what they did simply because they have to police the game. I am a high school Lacrosse refree and trust me there are plenty of times where a game is getting out of hand and you see the kids wave their sticks around like they're a gladiator with wreckless abandon and even though what they're doing is within the rules, if you toss a flag at them and put them in the penalty box it sends a message to everyone that you can't be cowboys out there.

With that being said, I think what the people in the NHL offices are doing is sending a message to the players of the Bruins and the Habs, and for that matter the rest of the league. The players are out there to play hockey, not fight and crosscheck and play beyond the rules of the game. While I hate how a Bruin player has to be the one to fall on a grenade and take the suspension. Lucic isn't the best Bruin, however the intensity he brings to the ice is so big for the team. I just hope that him not being on the ice tonight is the reason that this series takes a turn for the worse.