Every fan knows that hockey is a very fast and very hard-hitting sport. With the high speed and contact it's no secret that injuries happen. The league adopted a new rule that made blind-side hits to the head illegal. Matt Cooke's hit on Marc Savard last year is arguably the reason.
Marc Savard missed significant time last season, then he came back for the playoffs and ended up missing time to start this season with post concussion syndrome. On Jan. 22 Savard was hurt again by a check from the Colorado Avalanche's Matt Hunwick. Savard was later diagnosed with his fourth concussion. Let's take a look at rule 48 and you can decide if it's actually effective.
Rule 48 states that "A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted." The original hit on Marc Savard from Matt Cooke is a perfect example of this. Although that hit took place before this rule was adopted by the league. The hit from Matt Hunwick doesn't appear to be lateral, although it does look like the principal point of contact is the head. No telling if the hit was to the blind side though.
My pro ...
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Article written by Freddy Doll
Boston Bruins’ Marc Savard Hurt Again: Evaluating Effectiveness of Rule 48
February 3rd, 2011 by Freddy Doll Leave a reply »
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