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Brown’s take on hit: “I felt I got him with my shoulder”

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Whether his hit was a “knee-to-knee” or “thigh-to-thigh” connection, Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown won’t be a popular man in Phoenix for his controversial hit on Michal Rozsival. The Coyotes expressed hostility to the press and during the handshake line, but Rich Hammond caught up with Brown to get his perspective on what happened.

“I haven’t really seen a highlight of it,” Brown said. “Rozsival was cutting to the middle and I cut across and made contact. Obviously they thought it was kneeing. I felt I got him with my shoulder. My left side and his right side all made contact, from toe to shoulder.”

Mike Smith disagrees. So does Coyotes analyst Tyson Nash. PHT readers are debating the suspension-worthiness of that incident as we speak. Jeremy Roenick and Mike Milbury got into a heated debate over the hit after the game.

Knee-to-knee hits (or hits that kind of look like knee-to-knee hits) aren’t inherently predatory. Sometimes it’s a matter of bad luck. It seems like Brown is venturing that argument, but we’ll see if the NHL disagrees.

It might take a lot for the league to suspend a captain and high-scorer during the Stanley Cup finals, though.

(As for the handshake line awkwardness, Brown went the no comment route.)