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Chris Neil’s hit leaves Brian Boyle concussed, out for Game 6

boylegetty

To some, it’s amazing that Ottawa Senators tough guy Chris Neil was even able to land a controversial - and according to New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella, concussive - blow on red-hot forward Brian Boyle. Earlier in Game 5, Neil was the victim of this knee-to-knee hit by Rangers newbie Chris Kreider:

That hit wasn’t the subject of much discussion. Instead, it was Neil’s hit on Boyle later on in the third. Boyle actually looked pretty good in the limited time he played after leaving the ice briefly from the hit - he registered one of New York’s best chances - but Tortorella said that he has a concussion and that “he’s out” for Game 6.

Naturally, Tortorella wasn’t happy with the hit and even compared it to Raffi Torres’ infamous check.

Torts says that the league has “blueprint to follow” for how to handled Neil hit after similar hit by Raffi Torres on Marian Hossa.

Meanwhile, Arthur Staple caught up with Neil, who called the hit “clean.”

“The hit was clean,” Neil said. “When you’re cutting through the middle with your head down, you’ve got to expect to be hit.”

Again, we’ll have video of that hit soon enough, but feel free to start the debate if you’ve already seen it. Should Neil get a suspension? If so, for how long?

Going further, should Kreider sit for his knee-to-knee on Neil? Do tell.