This story originally ran in BruinsZone.com on March 9, 2011.

By Nick Tavares

The NHL and Senior Vice President Mike Murphy announced that Bruins captain Zdeno Chara would not be suspended for his hit on Montreal’s Max Pacioretty. From the release:

“After a thorough review of the video I can find no basis to impose supplemental discipline. This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly — with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards. I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous.

This was a hockey play that resulted in an injury because of the player colliding with the stanchion and then the ice surface. In reviewing this play, I also took into consideration that Chara has not been involved in a supplemental discipline incident during his 13-year NHL career.”

My take: This is the right call, though sure to be one unpopular in Montreal. It is a bit surprising, given the NHL’s tendency to suspend players involved in hits that lead to injury. But this was a hockey play, albeit a dumb one, that led to an unfortunate incident.

Hopefully, there’s no fallout when the two teams meet up in Boston on March 24.