NHL

Devils’ Zubrus ‘OK’ after headshot, will face Lightning

TAMPA, Fla. — Dainius Zubrus, victim of a headshot from Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers, said yesterday he was “OK,” but it wasn’t a glowing judgment. As for the failure of Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s disciplinarian, to suspend or fine Myers for that hit Wednesday, Zubrus’ judgment was far more definite.

“When the guy makes contact with the head only, I’m not sure what the rule is, then,” the Devils’ right wing said. “The puck is in front of him. He does not play the puck. He goes after me and he only hits my head.

“So what is it? I don’t get it.”

Zubrus, who said on Thursday he had a slight headache, is expected to be in the lineup when the Devils visit the Lightning tonight.

Playing his 1,000th game, Zubrus (who is 6-foot-5) was angling toward the boards and reached forward, lowering his head, to chip the puck into the Sabres’ zone. Myers (6-foot-8) hit the left side of Zubrus’ head and Zubrus went and remained down for long moments.

That night, Zubrus said he was “out of it for a little bit,” and “off for a couple of seconds,” but was back in action quickly, without concussion concerns.

Asked yesterday if he still had a headache, he replied, “I don’t think so. … My neck’s a bit stiff. I don’t think there’s a need [for concussion concern]. Right now, my neck’s a bit stiff, but we’ll work on it a bit.”

General manager Lou Lamoriello, who once was slow to embrace concussion concerns, said Zubrus is fine.

“He’s 100 percent,” Lamoriello said. “There’s no issue whatsoever.”

Coach Pete DeBoer said he wasn’t sure if Zubrus’ return didn’t affect Shanahan’s decision.

“If Zubrus wasn’t as big a guy and had been concussed, I’d have been a little more fired up about this,” DeBoer said. “I don’t believe [the non-injury] was part of the decision, [but] from what I read, but you wonder.”

DeBoer, who holds a law degree, said “the rule is still being defined weekly by the [NHL] office. Every time there’s a decision, it’s an education.”

Then he described the lesson from this case.

“You can make head contact, but if the guy is leaning for a puck or the intent isn’t to hit the head, it’s going to be OK,” DeBoer said. “They’re just words on a piece of paper until they’re practically applied.”

* DeBoer said he saw plenty of the Lightning’s 1-3-1 trap when he coached Florida last season, which earlier this month prompted the Flyers to hold the puck in their zone, stopping play. “For sure, that’s a staple of their team,” DeBoer said. … Martin Brodeur is expected to play his second straight game. … The Devils are 2-2 in their past four games, and 5-2 in their past seven.