Milan Lucic didn’t want to say much about his late-game hit on the San Jose Sharks’ Logan Couture, which resulted in a match penalty and an indefinite suspension by the NHL, pending a review. He did say he believed the Kings’ 5-1 loss was perhaps “a good kick in the butt” they need to “wake up and play a lot better because it’s never to soon to get going in the right direction.”

With the Kings down 5-1 late in the third period, Couture exited the penalty box and cracked an unsuspecting Lucic with a low check in the neutral zone. Couture had been penalized for interference on goaltender Jonathan Quick. After hitting Lucic, he skated to the Sharks bench and appeared to laugh at his rival. Lucic then charged at Couture, drawing a penalty.

“Just a low hit,” Lucic said of Couture’s check, which was not penalized. “I didn’t like it, so I reacted to it. I don’t know why I got a match penalty. I didn’t cross any line. So, obviously, I deserved a penalty. I don’t know why it was called a match penalty. At the end of the day, I don’t care who it is on the other side, if you hit someone like that you could easily injure someone. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, I’m definitely going to react to it.”