Goalies are not fair game just because they leave the crease.
I am surprised that Lucic did not get at least a game or 2 as he didn`t make any effort to avoid or minimise the hit.
The Rule is 42.1
It's written in black and white and there's enough grey area regarding contacting a goaltender outside the crease to colour any debate in confusion. After Milan Lucic ran over Ryan Miller on Saturday and concussed the netminder in a race for the puck at the right faceoff circle — the Boston Bruins forward received a charging minor and wasn't suspended following a hearing Monday — NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan concluded a rule regarding charging was the appropriate call. And he added that there was nothing egregious about the contact on the Buffalo Sabres stopper that would have warranted further supplemental discipline.
Regardless, you'd have a hard time convincing many that Lucic, an East Vancouver native, wasn't in the wrong because opinions are strong and the state of goalie protection is once again of obvious concern. It should be a hot topic of discussion when general managers meet Tuesday.
"I'm really surprised and even more confused," Canucks winger Alex Burrows said after the ruling. "I've been trying to figure it out and I don't know if goalies are in play now if they're out of their crease. This might set a precedent. Shanahan played the game and he probably knew that he [Lucic] had time to move and growing up you learn you can't really hit the goalies. I would have dove at the puck or have tried to get out of the way.
"I thought there would be repercussions. We're concerned. I thought we were trying to get those kind of hits out of this league and now it might be back to old-time hockey. The next thing you know, you might have a line brawl or a bench clearing."
As for Rule 42.1, it states: "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 the goal crease, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such unnecessary contact."
Now you understand the confusion. Daniel Sedin plays a finesse game and his physical involvement usually involves puck battles along the wall or fending off an aggressor. What he saw in the Lucic incident was a straight-line, full-head-of-steam approach by a winger with a reputation for physical play and not backing down from confrontations.
"He had all the time in the world to stop or change his angle," said the Canucks winger. "That should never happen and it wasn't fun to watch. They [goalies] are not used to getting hit and it's tough for them to get out of the way. They're going to be a target if you allow those kind of hits.
"Goalies have a tough time skating with all the pads they have on and you have to protect them or it's going to be ugly out there."
Pretty strong words. But you can only imagine how the Canucks would feel if Daniel Carcillo takes a similar approach to playing a loose puck Wednesday when the Chicago Blackhawks visit Rogers Arena. As much as Roberto Luongo tried to be diplomatic in his assessment of the Lucic contact, he wouldn't have wanted to switch places with Miller.
"It's a tough call," Luongo said before the Shanahan ruling. "I put myself in Ryan's shoes and if that happened to me, I wouldn't be too happy about it. If you have an opportunity to avoid a hit — especially with a goaltender in a vulnerable position — it's been like that. Things happen quickly and sometimes you don't have time to react.
"It's rare you see it happen but there's an understanding around the league that you need to be protected and once in a while this happens. It all depends on the punishment."
Luongo was in a short dash to a loose puck on Nov. 1 in Calgary. Early in the third period, he collided with Flames forward Rene Bourque resulting in a shoulder-to-shoulder contact and he stayed down on the ice for a few moments after being shaken up. No penalty was called on that play.
"When I went out to play the puck, we both dove for it and it was incidental contact," recalled Luongo. "It just happens and is part of the game and shouldn't change the way you play."
The other side of the argument is that you can't really take aggression out of the game and that it can be difficult to avoid contact when players are schooled to go all out in a puck pursuit.
"You come out of the net that far — all bets are off," said Canucks associate coach Rick Bowness. "That's the cold reality of our sport. It's not a matter of protecting them to me, the goalie comes out that far and makes a decision to play a puck, all bets are off and it's up to the teams to sort that out."
Miller played the remainder of the first period Saturday and was then replaced by Jhonas Enroth to start the third period. He allowed three goals on 10 shots in the second period and then called out Lucic for his actions.
"Lucic has 50 pounds on me and he runs me like that? It's unbelievable," said Miller. "That was gutless."
Henrik Sedin may have put it best. Lucic is taught to play tough and goalies aren't. So when they go bump in the night, the outcome is usually predictable.
"Miller played the puck and he [Lucic] had a couple of seconds to either stop or step around and he leaned into the hit, too. It wasn't fun to watch," said the Canucks captain. "Everyone knows goalies didn't grow up practising taking hits. That's not their job. It shouldn't have happened.
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