The Los Angeles Kings will play their next game with Dustin Brown suspended. The forward has been disciplined by the league for kneeing Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.
Brown received a five-minute major for kneeing as well as a 10-minute game misconduct on the play. The hit occurred late in the second period of the February 10th game between the Kings and the Lightning.
It ended up being crucial in the final outcome, as Nikita Kucherov scored what would ultimately serve as the game-winning goal on the ensuing power-play.
Los Angeles’ Dustin Brown suspended one game for kneeing Tampa Bay’s Mikhail Sergachev. https://t.co/oTx0FHgl8a
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) February 12, 2018
Dustin Brown Suspended
This is the second time in the past few weeks that Brown has gotten into trouble with the league. He was fined $10,000 for his cross-check on Justin Schultz when the Kings played the Pittsburgh Penguins back on January 18th.
The league suspended Brown without pay. He also stands to lose about $31,586 from this suspension. He has now lost more than $40,000 these past few weeks for his excessive hits.
Brown has long established himself as one of the most physical players in the NHL. He is tied for 15th in the league in hits this season with 142. Brown also led the Kings in that category in nine of the previous 10 seasons.
The Play
Brown’s hit on Sergachev was worthy of the punishment the league handed him. It’s nearly impossible to rationalize the hit as a clean play.
As Sergachev attempted to skate out of his own zone with the puck, Brown skated towards him and stuck his knee and elbow out to make contact as Sergachev tried to avoid the hit.
Sergachev tumbled to the ice. Immediately, the referees separated Brown from angry Lightning players.
Along with being one of their grittiest players, Brown ranks third on the team in points this season with 38.
The Kings will certainly miss his presence in their showdown against the Carolina Hurricanes on February 13th.
Aside from the obvious safety concerns, plays like that make the Kings vulnerable not only on the ensuing power-play, but also games going forward that Brown is forced to miss due to resulting suspensions.
Hopefully, this will serve as a wakeup call and Brown is able to avoid any more unfortunate instances like this for the rest of the season.
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