Concussions are serious business in every day life, but more especially when it comes to hockey. Hockey players will play through sustained injuries, which can be a huge issue to their health. One of the injuries that a player really should never play with is a concussion. We have seen what concussions can do to forwards like Sidney Crosby who has been injured since January due to a concussion hit, and we have still not seen him play this season.
While concussions usually affect skaters like defenseman and forwards who are used to taking hits against the boards, it is a rarity when a Goaltender receives a concussion. Buffalo Sabres’ number one goalie Ryan Miller is one of these cases. After a hit by Milan Lucic knocked the net minder down, Miller received a concussion from the impact. Miller is now out indefinitely according to The Sabres, and the organization is pushing for punishment for the Lucic hit.
In reviewing Lucic’s hit on Miller it is clear that Miller is far out of the crease. While sometimes this is okay, Miller appeared to be too far into the defensive zone. If the hit had occurred while Miller was closer to the crease, this hit would have definitely been punished. It appears that Lucic did the checking on purpose, but if Miller had been a skater would the Sabres still be up in arms? Goalies need to be careful when leaving their posts as things like this can happen, and this hit in particular is really going to damage Miller’s season.
After reviewing the video once again, it does look like a head shot, which is something that right now is trying to be taken out of the game of hockey after many concussions have been acquired due to these hits. Lucic is expected to go to a hearing about this hit today. Lucic was punished for the hit when he was penalized for a charging offense. Unfortunately during the game Miller had to leave his post after the second period, where backup goalie Jhonas Enroth had to take over. Enroth will continue to play in the net while Miller is out with this concussion, so perhaps this will help the young goaltender to really hone his skills as a netminder for the Buffalo Sabres while he takes over.
