Sens' defenseman is knocked unconscious by vicious hit

The Ottawa Senators were blanked by the New York Rangers Sunday night by a score of 3 to 0, but there was less concern about the loss than there was about the health of defenseman Mark Borowiecki after he took a dangerous hit to the boards from Rangers' Brendan Smith.

Here are a couple angles of the hit.

Borowiecki was knocked unconscious on the play and suffered a concussion.

It's hard to know what's going through a hockey player's head in a moment like this - did Smith realize the compromised position Borowiecki was in, and his distance from the boards? Hockey is a fast game, and on the ice it's really not obvious sometimes when things go at such a quick pace. That being said, one could make the argument that as a professional, Smith should be aware of his surroundings and have the sense to avoid this dangerous contact in this position.

Smith was given 5 minutes and a game misconduct. Did he deserve it?

Should the league be giving him a call?