Dustin Brown avoids suspension for illegal check to the head

Right wing Dustin Brown was not suspended by the NHL after being penalized for an illegal check to the head Monday, and he will be in the Kings’ lineup Wednesday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

However, Brown said he’s confused by the rule the league adopted this season in an effort to minimize blows to the head.

“No one even knows what the rules are anymore. Is it blindside? Or lateral?” Brown said Tuesday after the Kings practiced at the United Center. “I thought the whole rule was hits to the head.”

For everyone’s knowledge here is the wording:

Rule 48 — Illegal Check to the Head

48.1 A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the [principal] point of contact is not permitted.

48.2 There is no provision for a minor penalty for this rule.

48.3 Major Penalty — For a violation of this rule, a major penalty shall be assessed (see 48.4).

48.4 Game Misconduct Penalty — An automatic game misconduct penalty shall be assessed whenever a major penalty is assessed under this rule.

48.5 Match Penalty — The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent with an illegal check to the head.

48.6 Fines and Suspensions — A player who incurs a total of two (2) game misconducts under this rule, in either regular League or playoff games, shall be suspended automatically for the next game his team plays. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game.

If deemed appropriate, supplementary discipline can be applied by the commissioner at his discretion.

Brown said he customarily hits defensemen like he hit Antti Miettinen, with one difference. “On a defenseman I’m coming up and across. That one I was coming back and across,” he said.

“That’s where I don’t know what the rule is. Is it a blindside hit to the head or a blindside hit, period? Because there’s plenty of blindside hits everywhere on the ice.”

Told by Kings TV analyst and former Kings player Jim Fox that shoulder-to-shoulder hits are fine, Brown said that’s what he thought — and how he described his hit on Miettinen.

“I can understand why there’s going to be such a scrutiny of those types of hits but I wasn’t that worried about it when I saw the replay. It was shoulder to shoulder,” Brown said. “He had the puck and he was shooting. He wasn’t late or anything like that. I think he was out the first minute of that power play.

“If he gets hit in the head I don’t think he’s going to get up. I hit him hard. I just hit him shoulder to shoulder.”

No date for Doughty’s return

Defenseman Drew Doughty, who suffered a concussion last Wednesday and had a setback Saturday, will not join the team in Dallas for the finale of this five-game trip.

“We’ll let this thing heal properly and be patient and make sure that everything is good when he gets back in,” Coach Terry Murray said.

Asked whether Doughty might return Saturday, Murray hesitated.

“I think it’s a matter of he and the doctor just working it out and as soon as he’s feeling good and ready to go we’ll get him back in the lineup,” Murray said. “If he was to join us in Dallas I would put him in right away but he’s not going to be here. He will be at home, obviously, and we’ll see how he is whenever we get back. No question I’m going to play him as soon as possible.”

Defenseman Jake Muzzin, recalled from Manchester (N.H.) of the American Hockey League after Doughty was placed on injured reserve, practiced with the Kings on Tuesday but won’t be in uniform against Chicago. Murray said he will stay with the defensemen who played in Monday’s 3-2 shootout win at Minnesota — Willie Mitchell, Matt Greene, Rob Scuderi, Jack Johnson, Peter Harrold and Davis Drewiske.

Murray also said he hadn’t decided the composition of his fourth line after trying a number of players there in Tuesday’s practice.

Slap shots

The Kings’ power play, one for 22 in the first six games, has converted four of 12 opportunities in the last two games. The penalty killers are nine for 11 in the last two games and had to kill off a five-minute major penalty in each of those games. . . . The start of Saturday’s game against the New Jersey Devils at Staples Center will be delayed by ceremonies honoring former Kings captain Mattias Norstrom. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:56 p.m.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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