Lucic calls out referee Meier after being ejected for throwing right

Milan Lucic threw an ill-advised punch Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes, and he's lucky he wasn't injured during the sequence leading up to it.

Lucic landed a right to the head of Kevin Connauton, earning an ejection - and pain in his left hand. Lucic said postgame the X-rays came back negative, according to LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen, and so the power forward was more focused on the officiating - particularly referee Brad Meier.

Connauton slashed the Los Angeles Kings forward in a scrum before the punch by Lucic, who said he was merely retaliating.

"I mean, if I don't react, I don't think he even calls a penalty," Lucic said. "Same guy - Brad Meier. I think this is the fourth time he's kicked me out of a game. It's always the same thing with him. ... Guys can take liberties on me and it's not a penalty. If I do something, then I'm automatically kicked out of the game. It's just unfortunate that it is that way with him, and I've just got to move on and not get frustrated by the referees in the game."

Lucic said his "whole hand went numb" after Connauton's slash, hence his angry outburst.

"I truly thought the worst because I couldn't feel my hand after the slash like that, and that's the way I reacted the way I did. ... I'm just thankful that everything came back negative," he added.

Though he may have avoided injury, Lucic may not be out of the woods, as he could be a candidate for discipline from the NHL's Department of Player Safety.