It really wasn't. Wilson literally left his feet and launched himself into him.

Three is excessive. It definitely wasn't clean but probably only needed to be a one game suspension.

The suspension wasn’t for head contact.... it was for charging, Wilson jumped it to the check and almost landed in in the bench.... good call by the NHL to suspend him. 3 games might be too much because it’s aleays been 1 playoff game is equal to 5 regular season games...

1p=1-5rs
2p=5-10rs
3p=10+rs

Shoulder to shoulder his jaw just happened to pop and his brain went dead, sure.

Looked like upper chest was principle point with head contact included. If Wilson wasnt suspended twice in the preseason it probably would be 1 game

Agree with @Chopper02 that 43's repeat status is what really got him here. Unfortunate that ZAR was hurt on the play but the trolls who are saying Wilson "jumped" or "targeted the head" are just that: trolls.

As a 6'5" defenseman I can speak from experience that it is a lot easier than you'd think to hit a 5'10" guy in the shoulder and make inadvertent contact with his head while following through. The massive size difference between Wilson and ZAR is an element few have mentioned.

Cheers to @NickC1988 for the laugh; I'd expect nothing less from a guy with Torts as his PP.

@Ajp_18 I would agree with your rough assessment and say that under that framework Wilson should have been suspended for 2 games at most. Interesting how he conveniently will now sit out for the rest of the games in Pittsburgh.

Sometimes it's hard as a 5'10 defeneman to not hit make any contact with the head on a 5'10 forward. Depending on how they're leaning or what happens right before contact it's logic that head contact will be made. I can only imagine what it would be like to be 6'4 plus. (Can i borrow a few inches? *No need to insert a joke here people)

TBH I don't think the principal point of contract should really matter. By lining a guy up like that and launching your body in an upwards trajectory you're running the risk of hitting the head.

I love seeing a big hit and miss the old Scott Stevens days...but my enjoyment of a hockey game will not be impacted if the NHL moves to get this style of hit out of the game completely.

If you can make a black and white call about shooting the puck over the glass...you should be able to make a black and white call about a hit that impacts the head in any fashion....just have to be equally as strict against fakers who will start snapping their heads back anytime they're checked in hopes of drawing a call.