Milan Lucic speaks out about his hit on Mike Smith and his response is perfect
When Milan Lucic hit Mike Smith in the 3rd period of last night's game, some Oilers' fans believed that Lucic would face a suspension for his actions. Today the NHL Department of Player Safety determined that wasn't going to happen, as Lucic would not face a hearing.
Darryl Sutter offered a funny response about his thoughts on the hit, but today Milan Lucic also had an opportunity to speak about how he felt about the hit. When asked about whether he ran into Smith intentionally, Lucic responded:
I definitely wasn't trying to hit him, I was braking... ...if I did charge, we both wouldn't be playing tomorrow
While Lucic likely could have made other attempts to avoid Smith, it's clear to anyone who has seen Lucic play that he didn't intentionally run through Smith. As Lucic stated, he likely could have seriously injured Smith if he'd chosen to.
Game 4 is tomorrow night and it's likely a member of the Oilers will try and hold Lucic accountable for the hit. A job I definitely don't envy.