Should Milan Lucic be suspended for abuse of an official?

We all had a lot of fun watching Dalton Prout one-punch Milan Lucic last night, but now that the dust has settled, did the league fail to protect one of their own?

There were two incidents following the TKO of Lucic that seemed to break the rules set out by the league to protect the officials. First off, let's take a look at the official rule.

40.4 Automatic Suspension – Category III - Any player who, by his actions, physically demeans an official or physically threatens an official by (but not limited to) throwing a stick or any other piece of equipment or object at or in the general direction of an official, shooting the puck at or in the general direction of an official, spitting at or in the general direction of an official, or who deliberately applies physical force to an official solely for the purpose of getting free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation shall be suspended for not less than three (3) games.

The GIFs are a little big, so you'll need to give them a minute to load.

Does Lucic apply physical force to an official? Definitely. While the linesman is in between the players Lucic attempts to punch Prout, but as you can see in the GIF he mostly punches the referee in the face.

Let's give Lucic the benefit of the doubt, even if he probably doesn't deserve it. We'll chalk that one up to Lucic just being a dirtbag that wanted to land a sucker punch while his opponent had his hands down. Suspension worthy? Probably not. He does punch the referee, but he's clearly aiming at Prout.

Well, well, well.

Let's go over that rule again.

Any player who, by his actions, physically demeans an official or physically threatens an official by (but not limited to) throwing a stick or any other piece of equipment or object at or in the general direction of an official.

Any other piece of equipment or object at or in the general direction of an official.

He clearly throws his glove in the general direction of the linesman. Yes, his target was probably Prout, but he throws it at, and hits the official. Accidental or not, this is definitely a breach of the rules that the league set forth to protect their employees. It's a physically demeaning act, no doubt about it.

Will Lucic get suspended? No.

Should he be sitting for three games? According to the rules, yes.

And frankly, that level of disrespect shown towards the officials shouldn't be tolerated in the first place.