NHL expands ban on shots to the head

NEW YORK – The NHL ban on hits to the head is getting much clearer.

The league’s board of governors approved the change in language Tuesday to a rule that already made some head contact illegal.

The ban, in existence for just more than a year, will now apply to any hit that involves contact to the head and shots that target an opponent’s head and make it the principal point of contact.

The original wording to Rule 48 applied only to hits that came from the lateral or blindside. Those words have been eliminated. This ban, effective immediately, is in effect for hits anywhere on the ice and from any direction.