Lucic sucker punches Zadorov in first game with the Flames

The Calgary Flames made a bold move the summer, acquiring veteran forward Milan Lucic in return for James Neal. 

Maybe people questioned the trade, but Lucic made it clear he was coming to Calgary to protect young players and use his physicality. 

Well, he went a bit overboard on Thursday in the Flames’ first game of the season, against the Colorado Avalanche. 

Teammate Austin Czarnik was heavily boarded by Nikita Zadorov and Lucic was having not of it. Right after the hard hit, the enforcer skated over to Zadorov and pushed him around. He didn’t wait for an invitation or asked to dance, he just punched Zadorov in the face. 

Lucic was penalized for fighting, got an extra minor for instigating the bout and was also given a 10-minute misconduct. Zadorov was sent to the penalty box for boarding Czarnik and fighting Lucic. 

Fighting doesn’t seem to be the right word… but hey, he was penalized. 

Mikko Rantanen recorded his second tally of the contest on the power-play. Luckily for Lucic, his captain Mark Giordano scored right after to keep the Flames in the game. 

Sportsnet revealed that Lucic has a tendency to take fighting majors in his first games with a new team. Check this out: 

After all, he has a reputation to uphold!