The 2010-11 National Hockey League season begins Thursday with a number of rules changes, including the following new one:

Q: What is the new NHL rule (No. 48) pertaining to an illegal check to the head?

48.1

Illegal check to the head - A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principle point of contact is not permitted.

48.2

Minor penalty - There is no provision for a minor penalty for this rule.

48.3

Major penalty - For a violation of this rule, a major penalty shall be assessed (see 48.4).

48.4

Game misconduct - An automatic game misconduct penalty shall be assessed whenever a major penalty is assessed under this rule.

48.5

Match penalty - The referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent with an illegal check to the head.

48.6

Fines and suspensions - Any player who incurs a total of two (2) game misconducts under this rule, in either regular-season or playoff games, shall be suspended automatically for the next game his team plays. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game.If deemed appropriate, supplementary discipline can be applied by the commissioner at his discretion.

2010-11 Official NHL Rulebook