Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown infuriated the Phoenix Coyotes with a controversial hit mere seconds before teammate Dustin Penner scored the overtime-winning goal that sent the Kings to their first Stanley Cup final in 19 years.
Brown, the Kings’ leading scorer with 16 playoff points, knocked Coyotes defenceman Michal Rozsival out of the game with a knee-on-knee collision (watch above). The only whistle on the play occurred before the hit, and it signaled offside. No penalty was called, and the Coyotes were livid, especially captain Shane Doan.
Phoenix Coyotes forward Shane Doan sounds off on the non-call:
On the next shift, Penner scored to end the game 4-3 and the series 4-1 in favour of the visiting Kings.
After Brown accepted the Campbell Bowl on behalf of his Western Conference championship team, the Coyotes sounded off.
“When Brown gets away with something lke that, after the whistle, knee on knee, that’s a dangerous play. If Raffi Torres gets 25 games for his hit during the play, this guy should be done forever,” Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith said. “The calls that were made and not made down the stretch, that just saps the life out of you. They said we’re complaining a lot about calls, but we’re complaining because they’re calls that have to be made in these games.”
Keith Yandle, the Coyotes’ all-star defenceman, placed blame on the officials. The Coyotes were dealt exactly twice as many penalty minutes as were the Kings in the five-game series, 120 to the L.A.’s 60.
“It’s unfortunate, for us especially. They know we don’t have an owner. We don’t have anyone to back us up. For them, I don’t know if it’s an easy way to not make calls, not show up,” Yandle said. “I know they wear the same colour jerseys, the refs as the Kings, but they didn’t have to play for them tonight.”
During the traditional post-series handshake line, both Doan and forward Martin Hanzal, who was suspended one game for hitting Brown from behind in Game 2, exchanged words with the Kings’ captain.
An exasperated Doan, who received a game misconduct for boarding Trevor Lewis in Game 2, questioned the officiating and his own penalties in the series but did give credit to the Kings.
“Uncle. Are you fricking kidding me? Uncle. I can’t understand how you miss that,” the veteran said of the Brown hit. “They played unbelievable and they beat us. And thank goodness their power-play didn’t score on all those power-plays they were handed, because it could have been really ugly.
“How do you miss that when it’s after the whistle and it’s a knee? How do you possibly miss that? As a player, I get in trouble when I make a mistake. I get in big trouble. I get called out by (the media), I get called out by everybody. I get called out by my coaches, I feel accountable to my teammates,” Doan continued. “I don’t know how you miss it. I don’t understand it. I’m sure they will have a great explanation for it.”
Brown addressed the controversial play.
“I hit him from toe to shoulder on my left side full-contact, He’s trying to get out of the way; I’m trying to finish my check,” Brown said. “My first thought is, I didn’t stick my knee out. He’s trying to get out of the way, and I finished my check.”
Told of his players’ frustration, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, who accused the Kings of embellishing to draw calls after Game 3, refused to criticize the referees.
“It’s not going to do any good right now. I think you guys should just write what you saw. If you write what you saw, you’ll see why people get frustrated,” Tippett said. “L.A. played well. Early in the series they played very well. Ultimately, the last two games, I thought were our best games, but they were too late. L.A. beat us. That’s what should be remembered, not the refereeing.”
UPDATE: Brown will not face an NHL hearing for his hit, reports USA Today.
Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith compares Brown’s knee-on-knee to Raffi Torres’ 25-game suspension:
Phoenix Coyotes Shane Doan and Martin Hanzal have not-so-congratulatory words for Brown during series-ending handshake:
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