Edmonton Oilers forward Milan Lucic has been fined $10,000 for roughing Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph during a game Tuesday night in Tampa.
Joseph, who earlier in the game had delivered a hard hit on Oilers defenceman Kris Russell, didn’t have the puck when Lucic bodychecked him to the ice. Lucic then sat on top of Joseph and appeared to cuff him, sparking a melee between the two teams.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “He felt that player took a liberty with Kris Russell — I agree with the liberty part of it.
“Part of the reason we have Looch here is to take care of teammates, and he did that.”
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“I don’t think many guys have an issue with what he did.”
The $10,000 fine is the maximum allowed under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. Lucic was slapped with minors for roughing and interference and a ten-minute misconduct on the play.
The Oilers finish off their four-game road trip on Thursday in Florida.
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