By: Camryn Meece | Follow me on Twitter / X @MeeceCamryn
18 years ago today, on October 23, 2008, Milan Lucic delivered one of the most-replayed hits in modern National Hockey League (NHL) history. Just 20 seconds into the second period, Lucic sent Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Van Ryn into the boards with enough force to shatter the glass above them. The impact sent acrylic shards flying into the front rows at TD Banknorth Garden.
The Bruins entered the second period up 2-0 after Patrice Bergeron and Blake Wheeler scored in the first. Van Ryn was along the boards in Toronto’s defensive zone when Lucic closed in. Lucic drove through the defenseman, sending him into the glass and shattering the pane. Play stopped as glass scattered across the ice, into the stands, and onto the two men.
After the players got up, concern quickly grew for the spectators who endured the aftermath. Medical staff treated four people for cuts. Two fans suffered facial cuts and were taken to a local hospital, while two others cut their hands while helping clean up the broken glass.
“I was in shock. They were in shock. We were all kind of in shock.”
-Milan Lucic
Fans seated in the first two rows near the incident were moved to a luxury box for the remainder of the game. Meanwhile, arena staff cleaned up glass and spilled beer from the stands and ice, installed a replacement pane, and, less than ten minutes later, the game was back in play.
Lucic’s teammates laughed as he returned to the bench, where he worked to remove glass shards from his gloves. Both Lucic and Van Ryn had glass shards caught in their equipment after the collision; Van Ryn had pieces caught in the back of his sweater. Despite Boston’s early lead, Toronto came back to take the game. Van Ryn scored on the power play later in the second period, and Nik Antropov tied it before the intermission. Toronto added two more goals in the third to win 4-2.
The day after the game, Lucic met with two injured fans, a brother and sister visiting Boston. He gave them several Bruins items, including jerseys, hats, and T-shirts. The hit also helped make a name for Lucic in Boston. In just his second season with the Bruins, he had given fans a memorable example of the physical style he was becoming known for.
Three years later, Lucic’s physical style was back in the spotlight. On November 12, 2011, he collided with Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller, who had come out of his crease to play a loose puck. Lucic received a two-minute charging penalty, and Miller suffered a concussion. Miller criticized Lucic after the game, but the NHL reviewed the collision and decided against further discipline. At TD Garden, fans cheered Lucic and booed the penalty, showing how much Bruins fans loved his physical style, even with a nasty hit under his belt.
Even after leaving Boston in 2015, Lucic kept playing a physical game. In April 2022, while with the Calgary Flames, he delivered a big hit on Nashville Predators forward Matt Duchene. Years after the collision with Van Ryn, Lucic still brought that same physical edge to the ice.
This story was written in collaboration with Mike Commito, author of Bruins 365, which features a different story from the franchise’s history for every day of the year. Check out his book and more of his work below!
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