Report: NHL announces ruling for brutal hit last night.

The National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety has once again issued a ruling that leaves us more than a little baffled.

During a the final moments of the first period of the Wednesday night match up between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, the Bruins' Zac Rinaldo laid out former teammate Sean Couturier with a brutal hit that earned him a game misconduct.

On Thursday the NHL's Department of Player Safety released a video explaining that while they support the call made on the ice by the officials they believe the hit "does not rise to the level of supplemental discipline."

It's one more sign of inconsistent and seemingly incoherent rulings from NHL Player Safety, and frankly at this point it feels like flipping a coin is about as accurate a gauge of how they will rule on a hit as you're going to get.

During the live broadcast you can hear veteran hockey analyst Pierre McGuire describe the final moments of the hit. McGuire correctly describes how Rinaldo launches his body upwards, calling it as "Rinaldo just exploding up into the face area."

Here's a look at video of the live broadcast.

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Rinaldo is a repeat offender, he launches himself prior to contact, and both skates are off the ice at the point of contact, but another solid ruling from the NHL is the end result. Here's their attempt to explain it.