If you heard a collective “finally!” at, oh, 3:10 p.m. Monday, that may have just been the hockey world reacting to the news that Milan Lucic – better yet, a Bruin –  had been suspended. 

And maybe that line of thinking is unfair, but when you’re the defending Stanley Cup champions, you’re going to face some animosity from the outside. Factor in that the team plays a physical style, and every little questionable play is going to give fans and media in opposing markets something to talk about. And when those questionable plays aren’t exactly punished? Well, that’s where you get the notion that the Bruins hadn’t gotten their comeuppance this season. 

Prior to Lucic’s hit from behind on Philadelphia’s Zac Rinaldo, if one wanted to make a case about the Bruins not facing the full wrath of NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan this season, they could [For what it’s worth, this is two-thirds playing Devil’s advocate, as will be explained]. Lucic’s hit on Ryan Miller last month left the majority of general managers feeling he should have been suspended. Instead, he wasn’t suspended or fined, but given a warning. Brad Marchand’s slew foot on Matt Niskanen this month got him fined $2,500, and Adam McQuaid also had to fork over the same amount for kneeing Nick Foligno. Three controversial plays, three hearings with Shanahan and zero suspensions. 

Now, of those three plays, only McQuaid’s seemed like a no-brainer for a suspension. That came less than a week ago, and with hockey world not too far removed from the uproar out of Buffalo from the Miller fiasco (some might remember Miller taking a break from saying “unbelievable” to call Lucic a piece of feces) and this month’s slew foot incident, one would have to think that when it came to the Shanahan, the Bruins were skating on thin ice. 

As it turned out, all it took was a not-that-bad hit from behind – which was far less dangerous than the McQuaid play – for the league to finally suspend a Bruin. Given Lucic’s history of hearings, it seemed the league would finally suspend him for the second time in his career, and first since 2009.

While they didn’t agree with it, the Bruins knew that such a perception of them was out there. They knew that they were considered them the team that got away with stuff, and they didn’t like it. Marchand, who was suspended last year for elbowing R.J. Umberger, took his punishment for the slew foot this year, so he can’t see how some could think the B’s don’t get disciplined. 

“They look at everything,” Marchand said after Monday’s win over the Canadiens. “Anything they think is punishable, they take care of it. They fined us, and that's fair. That's how it goes. There have been a few fines throughout the year and … they suspended Looch. They fined me and Quaider. Teams can say what they want, but we're still getting punished. We're not going to change how we play. We're not out there trying to play dirty. We're just trying to play hard and be physical, and sometimes things happen.”

Said Peter Chiarelli: “That whole line of thinking – and I’ve seen it on the record and stuff – I mean, we’ve had our share of bumps along the way, with the [Marc] Savard stuff and the [Patrice] Bergeron stuff, so I don’t buy any of that stuff. Usually I look at stuff independently, and I think any arbiter will, or should.”

Whether it was right or wrong in the first place, the notion that these Bruins don’t get their comeuppance can no longer exist. Lucic got his suspension, and the Bruins made it through it. 

POULIOT PICKING IT UP

When the Bruins signed Benoit Pouliot to a one-year, $1.1 million contract on July 1, perhaps the hope was that they could get Michael Ryder-like production for a fraction of the price. Right now, it appears their bargain-shopping is paying off. 

While Pouliot isn’t having the type of season Ryder is with Dallas (the former Bruin has 11 goals for the Stars), he just may put up numbers similar to those of Ryder in his last two seasons. Ryder scored 18 goals in each of the last two seasons. Pouliot has six now and is on pace for between 15 and 16, but with his improved play of late, perhaps he can pick up the pace and continue to reap the benefits of playing with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley. 

Monday marked the second consecutive game in which Pouliot got the Bruins on the board in the first period after cashing in off a feed from Peverley. He’s clicking with his line, and all of the talk about him still needing to get comfortable in the system is in the rear-view mirror. 

“[Before,] I was just getting used to everything that was going on down here,” Pouliot said. “Playing with Pevs and Kels makes my game a little easier. They’re two-way guys and they play well with the puck and I just try to make room for them. We’re sitting on the same page. We talk a lot and right now the chemistry is pretty good. Every game we get a lot of chances to score goals. It’s good.”

Pouliot came to the Bruins after he was non-tendered by the Canadiens. A former fourth overall pick for the Wild, the 25-year-old has yet to reach his potential, but the Bruins have never shied away from acquiring former first-rounders who may not have become superstars and creating the right environment for them. Daniel Paille and Nathan Horton are two examples of that, and Pouliot may be another for Claude Julien and the B’s.

“I knew him from watching him play, and I think everybody felt the same way: There was a lot of talent in that young player – and I say young player because he is a young player in this league, and he was a first-round pick – and sometimes those guys just need an opportunity, and he got it in certain places where probably they didn’t feel that he fit in,” Julien said. “But we thought that with the type of team that we had, he would be a good fit for a couple of reasons – good size, good skill, but at the same time, he was a guy that could be physical. Our team is a team that really pushes guys to work hard day in, day out. We have a good group of players, and we felt that if we could get some consistency in this player, he would be a good asset to our hockey club.”