The game of hockey is one that is fast-paced and sometimes, dangerous hits happen. With the National Hockey League trying to get rid of blatant dangerous collisions, in almost all cases, hits from behind are bad.

Last night, the New York Islanders took on the San Jose Sharks. Late in the first period, Sharks defender Matt Benning is going back to collect the puck and Islander forward Cal Clutterbuck drives him into the boards from behind, take a look:


any time you see a play like this there are two sides to it, 1) does the attacking player have time to stop and 2) does the defending player put himself in a vulnerable position?


In this instance, if you're Clutterbuck and you see the letters, maybe don't finish your check, driving the opponents head into the boards.

Clutterbuck was assessed two minutes for boarding on the play while Benning left the ice for a short time but did return to the bench.

All in all, this was a dangerous hit and Clutterbuck got a penalty for it. Hits from behind like this have no place in the game and I hope the NHL does the right thing and suspends Clutterbuck