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No hearing scheduled for Richards after Couture spear

Phoenix Coyotes v Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Mike Richards #10 of the Los Angeles Kings on the ice against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center on September 21, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

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Kings forward Mike Richards has no disciplinary hearing scheduled following his spear on San Jose’s Logan Couture during Sunday’s 7-2 loss, an NHL spokesman has confirmed.

Here’s the play in question:

Spearing has become a hot topic in the early stages of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Boston’s Milan Lucic was fined $5,000 for spearing Danny DeKeyser, while Anaheim’s Corey Perry issued a warning after doing the same to Jamie Benn. Richards will escape suspension and it remains to be seen if he’ll be fined for his actions, as the league could deem this incident to have been adequately punished during the game (Richards was whistled for a double-minor on the play).

That said, the optics surrounding this latest spear didn’t look good. Richards delivered it in the late stages of a blowout and was called out by Couture following the game.

“You could tell they were frustrated and they were running around and I guess being cheap,” Couture said, per NHL.com. “Just stick to our plan and take the power plays and move on.”