Patric Hornqvist checked Charlie McAvoy squarely in the head

About a billion different things happened in the first period of tonight’s Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins game.

Eight goals. A goalie change. A couple scrums. Weird bounces.

And this, a hit to the head of Charlie McAvoy by Patric Hornqvist.

Apologies for the “video of the TV thing,” but you get the point.

As you can see, Hornqvist makes principal contact with McAvoy’s head. No penalty was called on the play.

From Rule 48.1:

A hit resulting in contact with an opponent’s head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. In determining whether contact with an opponent’s head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered:

(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not “picked” as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward.

(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.

(iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact

My guess is that the refs thought McAvoy had his head lowered and that Hornqvist had nowhere else to hit, but it’s not like McAvoy suddenly ducked; his head was down the entire time.

McAvoy’s nose was gashed up pretty badly after the hit, but he remained in the game and finished the first period.

What do you think? Dirty hit, or did McAvoy put himself in a bad spot?