NHL: Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings Affected by Collision of Smiths

The Chicago Blackhawks may have lost the services of promising young forward Ben Smith for a while after a third-period hit by Brendan Smith of the Detroit Red Wings left him face down on the ice for several scary moments.

Video of the hit can be seen here as well as below.

The Hawks won the exhibition contest 4-3, rallying from a 3-1 deficit in front of one of the largest preseason crowds in team history. However, Chicago came out of the contest worse for the wear after Smith and Viktor Stalberg left the game with injuries.

Chicago's Smith, who had put back a fortunate carom off the glass to tie the score 3-3 earlier in the third, received a pass from Dave Bolland and looked to have another scoring opportunity. Detroit's Smith cut across the ice in an attempt to prevent a shot. In doing so, he brought his shoulder up into the Blackhawks forward.

Unfortunately for both players, most of the contact was between the shoulder of the Detroit player and the head of the Chicago player. Smith went down hard and slid motionless along the ice.

It's possible that Smith was trying to plant a shoulder into his opponent's chest and simply came up off target. What's undeniable is that while he made a cursory attempt at a poke check, the intent was to deliver a hit. That hit made clear and primary contact to Ben Smith's head.

Brendan Shanahan will likely be handing down another preseason suspension in the aftermath of this clear violation. Meanwhile, how will this effect both teams?

Ben Smith suffered a concussion in Rockford last season. He missed about a month with the previous concussion. Who knows how long he could be out?

Unlike Brendan Smith, Ben Smith was a good bet to make his team out of training camp.

Smith's status is unclear as of now. The same goes for Stalberg, who made an early exit with a lower-body injury. In the face of these injuries, there is a good chance that Chicago will start the season with a player like Marcus Kruger or Brandon Pirri in the lineup. Brandon Saad, who skated last night, also saw his chances of sticking around increase.

Brendan Smith doesn't have a history like Jody Shelley or James Wisniewski, who both received heavy sanctions at the hands of the NHL. However, this is exactly the type of hit Shanahan and the league want to exorcise from the game.

If previous incidents are any indication, we shouldn't have to wait long for the league to act.