Dennis Seidenberg Hit On Jonathan Toews To Be Reviewed

Dennis Seidenberg’s hit on Jonathan Toews to be reviewed by the league (update)

During Thursday night’s matchup between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, a hit made by Dennis Seidenberg on Hawks captain Jonathan Toews knocked Toews out of the game altogether.

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Although Seidenberg only received a minor boarding penalty for the hit, Toews seemed to crash into the boards headfirst; as a result, the league is reviewing the hit per an announcement Friday morning to determine if supplemental discipline is required.

Hits like this are hard to evaluate. Toews most likely saw Seidenberg coming, as the two were headed in the same direction from the start. Seidenberg also doesn’t seem to either get too low on the hit (a problem Minnesota Wild fans might be more accustomed to, as Keith Ballard is notorious for it) or launch himself; his skates both seem to remain on the ice for the full hit. There’s no elbow involved, and it doesn’t look like a deliberate hit to the head.

The biggest question here will be most likely regarding the timing of the hit. It becomes apparent almost before the check is completed that Toews is falling awkwardly; as with the hit made by Nathan Mackinnon on Schenn during the Avalanche- Flyers game earlier this season, there’s got to be some accountability on the player making the check to ensure that his opponent isn’t being put in a potentially dangerous position as a result of the hit.

Hits that are ill-timed are often done without malicious intent;for those who remember, Montreal Canadiens forward Brandon Prust was suspended for a late hit during the Eastern Conference Finals this spring for a hit that was clean but late. This could very easily be the ruling made in this hit, as well.

If Toews had competely faced away from Seidenberg early enough, as well, it could be considered a blind-side hit, which is a suspendable offense.

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