During Tuesday's ugly loss to the Buffalo Sabres, there were calls to re-insert Dustin Brown on Anze Kopitar's wing:
So has Brown not been getting a fair top-six shake?
Consider that last season, he played more 5v5 minutes with Anze Kopitar (395:07) than any other Kings forward -- well more than trailing Trevor Lewis (268:41). From 2013-15, he skated a lot with Jarret Stoll (985:04) and Justin Williams (884:57), but also received plenty of time with Kopitar (645:31).
While Brown may not be receiving enough top-six minutes to everybody's satisfaction, Sutter has given him many scoring line opportunities.
The truth is, he hasn't done a lot with them. From 2012-16, Brown averaged 1.19 5v5 Points/60. With Kopitar, and in no small amount of time together (1636:43, most time spent with any LA forward), he averaged 1.21.
While Sutter's system does suppress offense, Kopitar averaged a healthy-enough 2.00 5v5 Points/60 from 2012-16. Brown's 1.19 overall or 1.21 with the Slovenian, even allowing for LA's defensive structure, paints him as a third-liner.
Incidentally, from 2012-16, Dwight King scored 1.64 5v5 Points/60 with Kopitar, while Trevor Lewis averaged 2.8 -- but these figures don't hold so much weight, as their sample sizes are much smaller than Brown's.
All said, you'll get no argument from me that Brown remains a more dangerous offensive threat than either Lewis or King. But would you believe that Sutter has proven, year after year, to believe the exact same thing? Why else would Brown earn so much more power play time than Lewis and King?
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Leaving him on the third line probably has more to do with balancing lines than anything, but whatever the reason, there's no doubt that Sutter recognizes the more adept offensive contributor between Brown, Lewis, and King.
However, isn't Brown having a revival this year?
Not entirely. His current 4-8-12 projects to 12-23-35 -- he's averaged 12-15-27 over the last three seasons. To that end, he's averaged 1.22 5v5 Points/60 this campaign. His 4.89 Power Play Points/60, second among all Los Angeles forwards, has helped more than anything, but may not be sustainable -- he averaged 2.11 on the man advantage from 2013-16.
For what it's worth, Sutter has actually bumped Brown's power play ice time up significantly this year -- from 1:00 a game last season to 1:45 -- Lewis averages 15 seconds and King 13 seconds.
Anyway, I like Brown, so I hope this piece isn't construed as an attack on him. I think he should still be the captain. He remains a useful top-nine forward. And certainly, he isn't to be blamed at all for his contract. But there's no clear argument for him to be restored to the top line. I have no objection to it, but the team has more pressing concerns.
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Speaking of scoring help, Teddy Purcell is dominating like a proven NHL scorer should be in the AHL -- he is, to quote
Lindsay Czarnecki, "Definitely on a different level...you can just tell, by the way he skates and some of the plays that he makes." He's notched two goals and three assists in five games, and the winger has routinely been Ontario's most dangerous forward.
There's no doubt in my mind that Purcell can still score at the highest level, but it may well be on another team, in another system. He doesn't deserve to be in Ontario for long.
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Stats as of 12/14/16, courtesy of Behind the Net, Corsica, Hockey Analysis, Hockey Reference, Natural Stat Trick, NHL.com, Puckalytics, and Sporting Charts.
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