The NHL held a hearing with Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty and cleared him in the hit that knocked New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh out of the game.

Pacioretty received a two-minute minor for boarding Pacioretty at 7:20 of the second period of Saturday's game in Montreal. McDonagh, who was bloodied by the hit, left the game and did not return.

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Earlier in the game, McDonagh had Pacioretty hit hard along the boards. On the play in question, Pacioretty had chipped the puck past a Rangers defenseman and McDonagh collected it behind the net. As McDonagh turned to play the puck, Pacioretty hit him.

Factors that led to Pacioretty being cleared include that McDonagh made a sudden move to his left, the Canadiens forward had his feet wide apart as he headed toward the defenseman rather than accelerating into him, and McDonagh got up immediately after the hit.

Though photos show that Pacioretty's feet are well off the ice, video showed his feet were on the ice at the time of impact. NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan has noted in other videos that skates often lift off the ice after a player makes impact.

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Holding a hearing doesn't necessarily mean a suspension is imminent. Last season, Shanahan had 63 hearings and cleared players eight times. This season, he cleared Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski after a hearing into Pacioretty's allegation that he was bitten by the Maple Leafs forward during a scrum.

Being cleared saved Pacioretty from a hefty hit to his wallet. Because he was suspended for three games last season for a Nov. 26, 2011, head hit, he would have been considered a repeat offender under the collective-bargaining agreement. If suspended, each game would have cost him 1/48th of his pro-rated salary instead of 1/99th.