The incident occurred in the second period. DeMelo left the ice bloodied but ultimately returned.
The NHL has suspended Lucic four times in his career, most recently in 2019 for roughing. The 34-year-old entered Saturday's game with seven points through 20 contests this season.
Scott Mellanby resigned as assistant general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, the team announced Saturday.
The Canadiens hired Mellanby as their director of player personnel in 2012 before promoting him to assistant general manager in 2014. He also had stints in various positions with the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues after concluding his 21-season playing career in 2007.
Mellanby discussed with owner Jeff Molson about becoming general manager, as well as president of hockey operations, but he resigned after being told he was out of the running, reports The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.
Montreal received permission Saturday to talk to former New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. The discussions are reportedly about a role other than GM.
The Rangers fired Gorton as their general manager in May after six seasons at the helm.
The Canadiens entered Saturday with a 5-15-2 record.
San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson is taking a temporary medical leave from his day-to-day activities, the team announced Friday.
Assistant GM Joe Will will take over operations on an interim basis.
Wilson was named Sharks general manager in 2003 and has held the position since. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame for his 16-year playing career earlier this month.
San Jose is 10-8-1 so far this season, good for fifth in the Pacific Division.
Team Canada architect Doug Armstrong knows goaltending is his club's biggest question mark heading into the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
With a plethora of high-end talent up front and on the blue line, Armstrong admitted choosing Canada's No. 1 netminder will be a prominent challenge in determining the final roster.
"It's fluid," Armstrong told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun on Thursday. "All the guys on the list have played some spectacular games and also played, you know, some games that were more normal. I think Hockey Canada has had one or two goalies that were in the top five in the league year in and year out for a couple of decades or longer.
"Right now, yeah, it's a situation where we're certainly not as concrete as Russia, would be, for example. There's certain countries that are very concrete in their goaltending, and we're not one of them."
Canada won gold in each of the past two Olympics that NHLers were able to attend. Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo anchored the crease in 2010, followed by Carey Price and Luongo in 2014.
Six netminders made the club's long list for these Olympics, according to LeBrun. Here are their 2021-22 stats.
Player (Team)
Record
SV%
GSAA
Carey Price (MTL)
N/A
N/A
N/A
Marc-Andre Fleury (CHI)
5-8-1
.912
-0.3
Jordan Binnington (STL)
7-5-2
.914
0.5
Darcy Kuemper (COL)
9-4-0
.905
-3.1
Carter Hart (PHI)
5-4-3
.928
6.3
Mackenzie Blackwood (NJD)
3-1-2
.922
2.1
Price hasn't played this season after voluntarily entering the NHL's player assistance program in October. The 34-year-old has a spotless international record including gold at the world juniors (2007), Olympics (2014), and World Cup (2016). In Sochi, Price posted a remarkable .972 save percentage and 0.59 goals against average across five contests.
Competing countries are set to announce their 25-man rosters in January. The NHL and NHLPA have until Jan. 10 to opt out of the games.
Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith lamented his club's lack of reliable goaltending following Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
The bench boss viewed the game as a winnable contest and said the team needs one of their goalies to step up and take the starting job.
"We deserved better, a point or two," Smith said, according to Sportsnet's Wayne Scanlan. "The difference tonight was probably their goaltending."
He added: "I didn't mind our details. I just think we've got to send someone to take the net and start to win us some games when we give that effort. We need someone to get in there and hold us right now.
"We're a young team that needs someone to steal one for us, probably."
Matt Murray started in Wednesday's defeat. Shots were an even 29-29, but San Jose erased a 3-2 deficit with four consecutive goals, though two were empty-netters.
Murray hasn't won any of his six starts this season, but he's not the only Sens netminder struggling.
Player
Record
SV%
GSAA
Filip Gustavsson
3-4-1
.905
-2.0
Anton Forsberg
1-3-0
.884
-3.7
Matt Murray
0-5-0
.890
-3.9
Ottawa ranks last in the NHL in goals against per game (3.82) and 30th in all-situations save percentage (.888). The team currently owns a 4-12-1 record.
While his club is spiraling through a 2-7-1 stretch and fans call for changes throughout the organization, Boeser said the rumors are getting old.
"Yeah, it does," Boeser told The Athletic's Thomas Drance prior to the Canucks' 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. "I had some people bring it to my attention yesterday a bit.
"I was confused. I think it's just people looking for an answer out in the social media world with the team struggling, especially now. That's part of it."
Boeser is in the final year of a three-year, $17.625-million bridge deal signed in 2019, and he'll be a restricted free agent this offseason. Vancouver drafted him in the first round in 2015, and the 24-year-old has recorded 218 points over 270 games.
If anything, Boeser believes he's part of the solution going forward.
"I personally don't think I'm going to get traded," Boeser said. "I feel like I'm part of the core here and a big piece. That's just how I feel.
"At the end of the day, I can't worry about that stuff. I just have to go out and perform. It's been a tough stretch for me personally, and obviously for the team. And I set high expectations for myself to go out there and produce and help the team win. Lately, it's been tough.
Boeser is off to a slow start this season, with eight points through 17 contests.
Point was a late scratch for the club's clash with the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. He went hard into the boards Saturday versus the New Jersey Devils after being tripped on a breakaway.
— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) November 20, 2021
Point appeared to be in considerable pain but stayed in the contest, ultimately missing the ensuing penalty shot.
The Lightning are now without two forwards on their top line, as winger Nikita Kucherov is also shelved while recovering from a procedure on a lower-body injury.
Point had notched 13 points in 16 games while averaging 20 minutes per night before getting hurt.
The IIHF is interested in introducing a three-on-three Olympic hockey tournament.
"We really believe in it," recently appointed president Luc Tardif said Tuesday, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "I think it's important to bring a new format. At the moment, the kids are zapping (between channels). They'd rather play a one-hour game twice than play two-and-a-half hours. They're following on TV four games at a time. So, we have to try to bring a new format."
Tardif's idea is under consideration by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) but nothing is imminent. Tardif admitted implementing the fast-paced format in time for the 2026 Milan Games is unlikely, but he's hopeful it can become a reality in 2030.
"More medals for hockey, that's not bad," Tardif said.
The NHL, IOC, and IIHF came to an agreement in September to send NHLers to the 2022 Beijing Games after they sat out the 2018 tournament in Sochi.
Clifford played 16 games with the Maple Leafs in 2019-20 before signing a two-year contract with the Blues the following offseason. The 30-year-old cleared waivers earlier Tuesday and will report on loan to the AHL's Toronto Marlies, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Clifford carries a $1-million cap hit and is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He's appeared in two games this season, notching one assist.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Los Angeles Kings, Clifford has 65 goals and 75 assists in 728 career contests.