Boston Bruins Forward Milan Lucic Correctly Not Suspended for Ryan Miller Hit

The NHL has decided not to suspend Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic for his open ice hit on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller during Saturday night's game in Boston.

The hit sparked a lot of controversy to whether or not the hit was worthy of a suspension, and if the NHL should do more to help protect goaltenders.

It was reported earlier that Lucic had a hearing with the league on Monday to discuss the hit, and the decision from the league was the proper one.

The Boston Globe tweeted about the decision on Monday afternoon.

Here is the hit for those of you who have not seen it, or want another look.

Lucic bangs into Miller after going after the puck, which was his target, and just protects himself. He makes no deliberate attempts to hurt Miller in anyway.

Miller and the Sabres were obviously upset about the play, but Lucic does not have a history of reckless play and going after other players with the intent to injure.

Brendan Shanahan, the NHL's head disciplinarian, told NHL.com the following about the situation:

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"I had the hearing because I did make an initial assessment of the play as I do with all plays, but I did have some questions for Milan and I wanted to hear directly from him," Shanahan told NHL.com. "They were regarding his intent; at what point did he know there was going to be a collision; and whether or not he felt he had the time to avoid the collision. I was satisfied with his answers.

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Here is what Lucic said about the hit in a recent Boston Herald article:

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“Obviously it was a hard collision and I did everything I could just to brace myself. Like he said, I have 50 pounds on him and that’s why maybe he got the worst of it. Even if you look at the video, I was cringing after the play, too, because I was winded and because it was such a hard collision. And he got a good piece of me as well.”

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Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.