Moore's hit has heads turning, people talking

BUFFALO, N.Y. Dominic Moore turned into a polarizing figure over a 48-hour period in the debate in hockey circles about hits to the head, even when they are not necessarily hits to the head at all.

The situation over the past few days shows just how difficult the process can be as the league attempts to address concussion concerns.

Moore came under scrutiny for a hit to the New York Rangers' LW Ruslan Fedotenko during Thursday's overtime loss at Madison Square Garden that left Fedotenko lying on the ice for several minutes before being helped back to the locker room.

Fedotenko left with a bruised cheek and a possible concussion, though the Rangers have not called it such, and he did not travel with the team to Philadelphia for Saturday's game.

On the play, Moore leaned back into Fedotenko while raising his shoulder. The initial public reaction was that Moore made contact with Fedotenko's head, which had the Rangers irate after the game. Brian Boyle called it a "dirty, dirty hit'' while Brad Richards described it as "idotic''.

Fedotenko's agent, Allan Walsh, sent out this message via his Twitter account: "How is this not exactly what we are trying to rid the game of? This was a hit to the jaw from the blind side of an unsuspecting player nowhere near the puck. Where is the sanity in all of this?''

The on-ice call was roughing, but when the league reviewed the play it determined that interference was the proper ruling. Moore was fined $2,500, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan explained the ruling Saturday morning via his Twitter account @NHLShanahan:

"Some of us thought this was direct contact to the head as well until we saw ALL replay angles. (Moore) never makes contact to (Fedotenko's) head. One replay angle clearly shows his BACK making contact with (Fedotenko's) STICK causing it to hit (Fedotenko) in the face. Not a rule 48 but (Moore) was still fined for this intentional interference that caused an injury.''

Moore reiterated Saturday morning that he was trying to clear space to be in position to receive a pass and did not intend to hit Fedotenko high, which he told Shanahan when the two discussed the play on Friday. Moore said he understood why he received supplementary discipline on the play.

"He has a decision that he has to make . . . I think it's good that he explains his decisions because people like to hear how he came to them,'' Moore said. "But it was just one of those plays where he came to check me and I tried to stand my ground. And the way it happened is the way it happened.''

That didn't make it a clean hit, nor does it exonerate Moore of any wrongdoing. The situation could have been avoided had Moore established his space in a different manner. It just shows the difficulties of the debate regarding head shots and how to continue to find a way to cut down on them in the game.

"When I looked at the clip, it's not something you want to see, but it was nothing that was premeditated,'' Lightning head coach Guy Boucher said. "Sometimes you can avoid those contacts. It wasn't necessarily getting the puck. It's an interference call, but they see it more as an aggressive interference call. They just want to warn the player (with the fine).''