We’ve all seen these kinds of collisions, either after a goal is scored, or after a save is made, and as a forward, this is actually what you are supposed to do, right?
“Filip Chytil beat the last defender to the net, snapped the shot past Tuukka Rask and barreled over the goaltender he had just scored on.
Rask flipped his mask off, lay prone and needed assistance to get to his feet and to the Boston Bruins locker room. The goal counted and Chytil faced no repercussions.
Rask suffered a concussion.
“I think it’s brutal, but what can you do?” Rask said. “The game’s so fast nowadays and space is limited. The guy’s driving wide and the D’s half a step late, then collisions happen.””
I do think as the article points out later, that we need to maybe think about how the head-contact rule applies, or should apply, when coming in contact with a goalie. I think, often, because the collision is not the same as a check, and because the goalie is likely to be lower than the skater to start with, officials don’t see it the same way as, let’s say, an elbow or shoulder to the head against the boards.
But should they? What if, on a play like the one described above, if you make contact with a goaltenders head on a collision, you’d face the same scrutiny as other hits to other players? Would that make forwards think for a second more about crashing the net, and would that extra second help avoid some of the concussions?
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