Dirty or not? Brendan Smith’s hit on Stefan Matteau (Video)

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith didn’t get penalized for a hard hit on Montreal Canadiens forward Stefan Matteau, but that doesn’t mean it was clean.

There’s plenty of debate on social media about it being dirty or not, but watch that check in the Sportsnet video above to decide for yourself.

As far as Matteau goes, he left the ice and appeared to be shaken up, yet it’s too early to tell if he’s injured. Smith was suspended back in 2011 but otherwise has a clean record in the NHL.

Here’s a taste of the back-and-forth:

I'll say he was committed to the hit and Matteau was oblivious. But I no longer view blindside heads hits as clean https://t.co/pUTrYf9QQ2

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) March 25, 2016

referees spot on in smith matteau danault sequence.

perfectly called.

— gregg krupa (@greggkrupa) March 25, 2016