Bruins' Eriksson hospitalized after hit

BUFFALO - Boston Bruins forward Loui Eriksson spent the night in a Buffalo hospital for observation following a hit from Buffalo Sabres forward John Scott during a 5-2 win on Wednesday night.

At 5:49 of the third period, Scott came across the ice and hit Eriksson near the red line after Eriksson had moved the puck. Eriksson went down to the ice after the high hit, was helped off the ice and did not return.

"Loui is staying overnight in Buffalo for precautionary reasons," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said in a statement. "He is expected to return to Boston on Thursday."

Scott was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head. He was also penalized for fighting Boston defenseman Adam McQuaid, who was given a minor for instigating and a misconduct to go along with a fighting major.

"The referees called it the way I guess everybody saw it," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "It's unfortunate but the guy who did it did his job tonight. He's out there for two reasons and that's either to fight or to hurt. He did his job tonight."

Sabres coach Ron Rolston said he did want to not comment on the hit. Scott was not made available to the media after the game. The Buffalo wing was offered the opportunity for an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety for the hit.

"It's similar to the [Ryan] Garbutt hit to [Dustin] Penner and kind of like [Michael] Grabner to [Nathan] Gerbe," Bruins forward Milan Lucic said. "They're obviously taking these hits very seriously. It's kind of unfortunate that a player like that takes out one of our top players.

"Hopefully it's nothing too, too bad for Loui and he can recover quick."

The Bruins and Sabres have some recent history -- in November 2011, Lucic collided with Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, who sustained a concussion on the play.

"Obviously it's disappointing that a key player gets hurt," Julien said. "I know there's history here, but [Scott's] a guy who plays about 2-3 minutes a game and targets one of your best players. That's going to be something I'm sure people are going to try and use as a Miller example.

"It is what it is, and it's unfortunate."