Late in the game Monday night vs. Colorado, with LA on a power play, Dustin Brown was hit in the head with a puck right in front of the net. It was a play that may have gone largely unnoticed, except for when the Kings captain went to skate after the puck in the corner, he fell down and seemed out of it as he skated to the bench moments later.
Coach Darryl Sutter gave one of his (gaining in popularity) three-word answers when asked about it after the game – “Pucks are hard.”
So, following practice today, I asked Brown what was going on there and if he had he fully recovered before taking his turn in the shootout.
“I feel good today,” said Brown. “I think that’s kind of natural. I went to tip it and I think their D hit it and (the puck) caught me right under my helmet – on the back of the head. Yesterday I went and saw the doctor and I saw him again today. So, everything is good.”
As for the little twirl around the ice he took right before the shootout, Brown explained it this way – “My balance was off a little bit, getting back to the bench after (the hit). I just wanted to make sure I could skate before I went in the shootout.”
Taking nothing away from Avs’ goalie Semyon Varlamov, perhaps that’s part of the reason why Brown missed on his shot. He had been red hot recently, picking up the deciding goals in shootout wins vs. Anaheim and Toronto just before the Christmas break.
The Mayor
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