NHL rule didn't apply to Crosby after scary fall

According to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, the league's concussion spotter determined the incident didn't match the criteria necessary to pull a player from the game. He added, however, that Crosby was checked for a concussion despite head coach Mike Sullivan saying otherwise.

The protocol states a player must be removed if a spotter sees symptoms in a player who takes a blow to his head or upper torso from another player's shoulder, his head hitting the ice or from a punch to the head.

The Concussion Spotter made a determination that the event and the player's response on the ice did not trigger the criteria in our concussion protocol that would have required or mandated a club to remove a player from play, Daly told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun. But that doesn't mean the player wasn't checked and evaluated on the bench. I am sure the club's medical and training staff were satisfied that the Player was fine before he was permitted to return to play.

On Tuesday after practice, Crosby said he was checked by a doctor Monday night during the first intermission, but did not go into concussion protocol.

Any guy that goes into the boards like that, the first thing is the trainer and the doctors, that's how it goes, Crosby said. What you're talking about is the difference between checking with a doctor and entering concussion protocol, they're two separate things.

Have a look at the video for yourself and you be the judge:



Do you think Crosby should've been pulled from the game despite being one of the best players on the team?