On Thursday night, Benoit Pouliot and Zdeno Chara boarded and elbowed opponents. But neither Pouliot, a Rangers forward, nor Chara, the captain of the Bruins, is scheduled to face an NHL Department of Safety hearing.

The league's reasoning is simple enough to understand. Those hits—Pouliot on Max Talbot and Zdeno Chara on Tommy Wingels—were illegal but not worthy of fines or suspensions. Pouliot was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct, though Talbot admitted afterward that he was falling toward the boards before the contact.

And Talbot, believe it or not, is OK.

Chara actually got away with elbowing Wingels entirely, but it's not the Player Safety group's responsibility to compensate for missed calls. If Chara had been properly penalized during the game—say, with a five-minute major—it'd be less of an issue. Camera angles on the replay aren't spectacular, either. 

Another thing to remember, particularly regarding Chara—it is indeed possible to violate Rule 48, which governs head shots and not be suspended. Theoretically, a player can hit an opponent's head deliberately without it rising to a suspendable offense in the eyes of the league. Intent, force, result—all are factors in the review process. Whether a player was or was not penalized in the game is not.

Does that mean the hits aren't debatable, particularly Chara's? Of course not—but the process and the rules are worth understanding.


SCOTT'S HEARING ON THURSDAY


Sabres enforcer John Scott, who was suspended indefinitely by the NHL pending a disciplinary hearing for a blindside hit to the head that leveled Bruins forward Lou Eriksson, will have his meeting with the league's Brendan Shanahan on Thursday.

That  means Scott will miss three games until he finds out the extent of his suspension. Shanahan is the league's senior vice president of player safety. 

Scott received a match penalty for charging and was ejected for his hit on Eriksson early in the third period of the Bruins' 5-2 victory Wednesday. Eriksson was skating through the neutral zone and had just dumped the puck into the Sabres zone when Scott skated in from Ericksson's right and struck him with a shoulder to the face.

Eriksson was dazed and didn't return. He stayed in Buffalo overnight as a precaution.

Scott was apologetic after practice Thursday. He called it "a bad play" and added he didn't mean to aim for Eriksson's head.

"I kind of feel really upset," he said, noting that he texted an apology to Eriksson. "I was sick to my stomach last night knowing what happened. And watching the video, I kind of regret the whole situation."

Scott's suspension further depletes the Sabres' roster. Buffalo is now down two roster spots because forward Patrick Kaleta is serving a 10-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson.

Kaleta has missed six games. The NHL on Thursday denied his appeal.

The Sabres (1-9-1) are off to the worst start in franchise history.


WARD OUT 3-4 WEEKS


The Hurricanes placed goalie Cam Ward on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury and recalled Mike Murphy from Charlotte to replace him.

The team announced the moves Friday, one day after Ward was injured 4:07 into the first period of a 3-1 loss at Minnesota. He was replaced by Justin Peters.

Ward, who started eight of Carolina's first 10 games, is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.

Murphy is 1-2-0 with a 3.81 goals-against average in three games with Charlotte and has played in two career NHL games.


PENS KEEP MAATTA


Rookie defenseman Olli Maatta will remain with the Penguins.

The Penguins could have sent Maatta, 19, back to his junior team, a move that would have pushed back the clock on Maatta's NHL service time. Instead, general manager Ray Shero decided to keep Maatta on the roster, calling it the best decision for Maatta and the Penguins.

Maatta, a first-round pick in 2012, has been solid during the team's fast start.

He has one goal and two assists in nine games and impressed his teammates with his skating and decision-making skills.


WILD RECALL GUSTAFSSON


The Wild have recalled goalie Johan Gustafsson from the AHL, after a lower-body injury that forced Josh Harding out of the last game after two periods.

Gustafsson was 2-0 with a 1.99 goals against average in three games this season for the Iowa Wild. The sixth-round pick in the 2010 draft played in his native Sweden last season and has not appeared in an NHL game. He'll be the backup to Niklas Backstrom when the Wild play on Saturday at Chicago.

Coach Mike Yeo said after practice Friday that Harding was feeling better but won't travel to the game.

Backstrom's relief appearance for Harding Thursday in the win over Carolina was his first action since he suffered a lower-body injury Oct. 8.

Contributors: Sean Gentille, The Associated Press