League quiet on McLaren discipline decision

BOSTON -- NHL discipline dean Colin Campbell met with Kyle McLaren on Saturday but didn't give any indication of how long the Boston defenseman will be suspended for the hit that injured Montreal forward Richard Zednik.

Zednik was released from the hospital Saturday morning, while his teammates prepared for Game 5 of the best-of-seven playoff series against Boston. Before the game, Campbell conducted an hour-long hearing with McLaren, his agent, Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell and a union representative at the FleetCenter.

NHL spokesman Frank Brown said no decision was expected Saturday. In the hallway after the game, McLaren refused comment.

McLaren was given a match penalty and suspended indefinitely after hitting Zednik with 1:18 left in the Bruins' 5-2 victory on Thursday that evened the series at two games apiece. After the game, Canadiens coach Michel Therrien accused McLaren of a cheap shot and vowed revenge, but he backed off those threats and both teams played a clean game.

"There's a lot of ways you can get revenge," Therrien said. "I think the biggest revenge you can get is a victory. That's what we were focusing on today, and that's what we're focusing on for the rest of the series."

Montreal won 2-1 on Saturday to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, opening a 2-0 lead and guarding it the last 44 minutes. The game included only five penalties, and one power play.

"They came out and did the opposite. They came out disciplined and didn't take any penalties," Bruins forward Brian Rolston said. "If you want to win in the playoffs, you've got to be disciplined."

Not going for injury

McLaren insisted he was not trying to hurt Zednik, who had a broken nose, concussion, bruised throat and cuts on his face. Zednik had two goals in Game 5 to move into a tie for the NHL playoff lead with four goals and eight points.

"The player is not a dirty player," O'Connell said Saturday. "He's a hard hitter. He's never had a history of this. He's a clean player. If you watch the incident, it was a collision, but it isn't a dirty, cheap shot."

On Friday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told both teams to cool their tempers.

Before Game 5, Bruins forward Bill Guerin appeared on the video screen asking fans to show respect for both national anthems. A few Montreal fans booed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Games 3 and 4, but no disrespect was shown Saturday.

Boston led 5-2 Thursday when the 6-foot Zednik sped up the right side into Boston's zone. His head was down when the 6-4 McLaren skated toward him and made contact with the upper part of his left arm, dropping Zednik to the ice. Zednik was down on the ice, unconscious, for five minutes.