RALEIGH, N.C.(AP) Carolina Hurricanes forward Scott Walker will not be suspended but was fined $2,500 by the NHL on Monday for throwing a punch that may have broken a bone in Boston defenseman Aaron Ward's face.

Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford told The Associated Press that the automatic suspension given to Walker was rescinded during a hearing with league disciplinarian Colin Campbell. It was ruled the hit was not a ``sucker punch.''

``Based on what was said on the ice as I was dropping my gloves, it was my understanding that I was engaged in an altercation,'' Walker said in a statement issued by the team.

Tempers flared in the final minutes of Boston's 4-0 victory Sunday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals when Ward and Carolina's Matt Cullen began shoving in front of the Bruins' net. Walker skated in and hit Ward with a right cross that knocked the defenseman to the ice, and was given a misconduct, a fighting major and an instigator penalty with 2:47 remaining.

Boston coach Claude Julien said after the game that team doctors feared Ward had a broken orbital bone. He was being re-evaluated Monday.

``In reviewing what I saw, I just didn't like what happened. ... I just don't think there was any need for that,'' Julien said after practice in Wilmington, Mass. ``He sucker-punched him once coming into the scrum when (Ward) was involved with another player. And then he dropped his gloves and sucker-punched him.

``I don't care what people say about, 'Ward should've protected himself.' He had no intention of getting involved,'' he added. ``We asked our guys to stay composed and not fall into that trap, and he just did that. A guy with Walker's experience should know better than to sucker-punch a guy.''

The Bruins issued a statement Monday responding to the lack of suspension for Walker.

``We respectfully disagree with the NHL's ruling to rescind the automatic suspension to Scott Walker, but we will abide by the league's ruling,'' the team said.

Things were chippy throughout a physical game in which the teams combined for 29 penalties and 83 penalty minutes. That's not counting Jussi Jokinen's second-period slash to Zdeno Chara's lower body that briefly sent the Boston captain to the locker room. Jokinen was not penalized.

Rutherford said the incident was ``clearly brought on by them,'' saying he felt the Hurricanes had taken shots from Boston players throughout the series, which Carolina leads 3-2. He isn't worried about the possibility of the Bruins retaliating against Walker during Game 6 Tuesday night.

``If that's the way the game's going to be played, that's the way we'll play the game,'' he said.

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