RALEIGH, N.C. — This is the brutal irony of the situation, a product of the structure the NHL has set up.
Of course Tony DeAngelo didn’t want to seriously injure Kyle Okposo, but under league rules, he was allowed to punch him in the face. And that punch on Friday night in Buffalo, the one shot thrown by the Rangers defenseman that nailed the Sabres forward on the jaw and knocked him immediately to the ice, has now resulted in a concussion.