He left Boston's 8-1 victory on a stretcher and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. Coach Claude Julien said Horton stayed overnight for observation and was released from the hospital Tuesday morning.

"Obviously glad to know that it's not as bad as you always suspect," Julien said. "For him to be out ... obviously (there's) a long road to recovery, but hopefully he gets better soon."

Murphy would not divulge specifically what he and Rome discussed, but during the hearing, "(Rome) felt it was a hockey play, a hockey play that went bad. They're my words, not his, but that's basically what he said. It was a one-on-one play. The puck was released, and he followed through with the hit."

The series was already emotionally charged after the first two games in Vancouver, especially with Canucks forward Alex Burrows' bite of Patrice Bergeron's left forefinger in Game 1, which the NHL ruled was not intentional and did not penalize.

The teams accrued a combined 145 minutes in Game 3, second-most in a Stanley Cup finals game since 1986, when the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames had 176.

"We've addressed it with the teams as early as this morning." Murphy said. "I will be speaking with both general managers and coaches before the day's over about the crap that we're seeing, the garbage that is going on, some of the issues."

Milan Lucic, Horton's fellow winger on that line, said he had communicated with Horton by text message.

"He's feeling good, feeling a lot better," said Lucic, who turned 23 on Tuesday. "He sent me a birthday wish, so it's good he remembered my birthday after a concussion."

If the Stanley Cup is awarded before Game 7, the NHL said Rome's suspension will carry over to the start of next season.

"I want to express my concern for Nathan's well-being and wish him a quick and full recovery. I try to play this game honestly and with integrity," Rome said in a statement. "As someone who has experienced this type of injury I am well aware of its serious nature and have no desire for another player to experience it.

Bruins right wing Nathan Horton is tended to by a trainer after a blindside hit by Vancouver's Aaron Rome in the first period Monday. AP Photo/Winslow Townson

"I will not take away my teammates' focus on the task at hand and intend to speak at an appropriate time in future," he said.

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who said Monday night that he didn't believe Rome's hit was dirty, maintained that position Tuesday after the suspension was announced.

"In my opinion it's not the right call," he said. "At the end of the day, we hope the young man regains his health ... At the end of the day, also, it was a north/south play on the hit on Horton where he made a pass to Lucic and he was looking at his pass. Aaron was a tad late. Aaron is not a dirty player, never has been, never will be. It was a hit, unfortunately, that turned bad ...

"I don't know how the league can come up with this decision," he said.

The Canucks players vocally rushed to Rome's defense after practice Tuesday at Boston University, criticizing the severity of the suspension.

"We disagree with the decision, and it was a clean hit," Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin said. "Talking to Aaron was extremely emotional. When you get to this point in the playoffs, you want to be a part of it on the ice, and Romer didn't deserve what he got."

Horton is a key offensive player for the Bruins, but the 27-year-old Rome is merely a depth defenseman for the Canucks, usually playing in their third pairing. He has one goal and 37 penalty minutes in the postseason.

"Obviously, it's not even-up when you look at those players' impact on the game, but it's our job to deal with it," Boston defenseman Andrew Ference said. "It's not the same, but that's the way those things usually work."