FRISCO, Texas - Dallas Stars forward Antoine Roussel is a pretty matter-of-fact kind of guy. So when he addressed the media after practice on Monday in Frisco, not long after learning he had been fined for a sucker punch on San Jose's Justin Braun in the third period of a 5-3 loss to the Sharks on Saturday at American Airlines Center, his responses to the four questions he was asked were quite succinct.
"I got fined. That's it," was how No. 21 responded when asked about his hearing on Monday morning with the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
Roussel drew the ire of the Sharks, who trailed 3-1 after two periods before scoring four unanswered to prevail by two goals, by going in hard on backup goalie Alex Stalock late in regulation, catching Stalock high right after he swatted a puck out of the air with his stick.
"It's a weird play. We don't see that quite often. Just going to be aware now to be far from the goalie," Roussel said.
A scrum ensued and Roussel hit Braun from behind, a shot which Sharks head coach Todd McLellan discussed in his postgame remarks to the media.
Roussel discussed the play for the first time on Monday.
"It's a fast game and it comes quick," Roussel said. "Obviously, you don't want to hurt anybody. I felt like it was a fair fight for a second and I saw that he was tied up. That was when it got broken up."
In the San Jose locker room postgame, Sharks center Logan Couture, who had three assists in the victory, said the following about Roussel.
"Roussel's kind of known for that, so watch it on the video and see what really happened," Couture said.
However, "Rousse" isn't too concerned about what sort of reputation, if any, he might already have around the league as a guy who sometimes crosses the line.
"I don't care," was his response when asked if he thought he had a bad reputation in the NHL.
Roussel and the Stars, who haven't won since Oct. 21 and are on a seven-game winless streak, begin a two-game road trip Tuesday night at the Arizona Coyotes. Dallas will then face the reigning Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at Staples Center before returning home.
