This season marks the ninth season in which two of the Los Angeles Kings most prized franchise players have played together. Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown have been the face of Los Angeles hockey for nearly a decade.
Off ice they may be absolutely fine together, but on ice they should be kept as far apart as possible.
Darryl Sutter has ultimately had his hands tied at times when it comes to who to put alongside Gaborik and Kopitar. He has tried Dwight King, Trevor Lewis, Kyle Clifford, Justin Williams, and yes, Dustin Brown. With King settling in nicely with Carter and Toffoli, the natural option in that group is
Justin Williams Trevor Lewis Dustin Brown right?
Brown and Kopitar have a history together over the last nine years, playing on the same line at various times in their careers. It seems that nine times out of ten it is a waste of time. In fact, if you look over the course of the last six years from 2008 to 2014, Kopitar has been a better player statistically when not with Dustin Brown.
In this graph you can see it pretty clearly, Kopitar just scores way more goals when Brown isn't on the ice with him at even strength:
Maybe you think it has gotten better as they have aged. Nope.
The goals against and corsi for have remained relatively constant between the two, and there's a reason for that that we will get to.
Remember Ryan Smyth? Of course we all do. Sadly enough it isn't for the hockey he played here but more so the way he left and his words about Los Angeles post departure. However, Ryan Smyth was a prime example of a player that meshed with Kopitar in a way that you would hope Brown could. Smyth had one idea in mind: Get to the net. With or without the puck, get to the net and cause problems. Smyth understood his role as a support player to Anze Kopitar.
Smyth took far fewer shots than Brown, but put himself in an area of the ice where he didn't have to find the puck, the puck found him. He was good for 20+ goals in both seasons he played in Los Angeles alongside Kopitar and Justin Williams. He also has a higher career shooting percentage than Dustin Brown. Funny how those numbers go up when you are shooting the majority of your shots from high scoring areas, or getting them off rebounds.
When you look at Brown's body of work, in theory you can see the potential for a similar relationship. Brown is a heavy player, loves to hit, and loves to be physical. Couple his generally high total of hits and drawn penalties with the pure skill and playmaking ability of Kopitar and Gaborik and it seems like a great match right? It is tantalizing when you view it like that.
However there is one key problem in Dustin Brown's game that prevents it from being a positive relationship: He has the puck way too much.
Now let's not take this the wrong way. Dustin Brown is a fine player for the Kings and always has been. This is not to talk about a deficiency in his game but rather a contrast in styles that doesn't quite work. The NHL is about duos and complimentary players. Dustin Brown is not a complimentary player, whereas Dwight King is.
23 has led the Kings in hits for what seems like the better part of a decade, but he has also been in the top-3 each season in shots taken. Thus his corsi and possession stats all remain very good, and good alongside whoever he plays with.
The inherent problem with this though is that to have so many shots a game, Brown has to have the puck. When he is on the ice with Jarret Stoll and Dwight King, or Trevor Lewis and Justin Williams, it doesn't seem so heinous a crime that he has the puck the majority of the time. However, when he is on a line with Kopitar and Gaborik it is detrimental. Brown, by nature of his style, is taking the puck off the stick of two of the most skilled players in the NHL. Gaborik's shot and Kopitar's vision and possession skills become almost irrelevant when the play boils down to Brown carrying the puck in on the wing and taking a shot from outside the circles.
You love it on the bottom lines, because the hectic style of some of the aforementioned players benefits from Brown just throwing pucks on net. However, when you throw Brown on the top line with Kopitar and Gaborik that is like showing up to a wine tasting with a 40 of King Cobra. Some guys party like that. They don't.
This isn't to say that Brown isn't capable of playing such a game though. He scored a goal against the Avalanche that was a prime example of just bullying your way to the net and creating space for good ol' No. 8 to do his thing.
If you look at some of the successful combinations the Kings have deployed over the last several seasons, they all follow a formula like the one that Smyth-Kopitar-Williams had. A big body gets to the net or along the half wall for puck retrieval and the two skill guys benefit from the open ice. The current incantation of this for the Kings is in the form of Dwight King, Jeff Carter, and Tyler Toffoli. King was also able to bring that element of success during his time on the top line alongside Kopitar. There is a reason why Dwight King is actually one of the best complimentary players on the Kings. Follow this link to
Stats.hockeyanalysis.com (Where I have obtained all these fantastic graphs) and you can see how big a difference he makes in goals for% by hovering over each player bubble. King is content not having the puck, and he is content in just making sure the more skilled guys have the space, time and screened goalie they need. Brown is not that passive. He wants the puck.
Brown and Kopitar have had runs together where they have looked very good, like the 2013-14 postseason. For the most part though it is a partnership that has been touch and go for the better part of each man's career. We are starting to see Sutter go to it again more frequently now with King being used on the second, and hottest line in the NHL. Brown and Kopitar are both alpha male hockey players to a degree. The both want the puck on their stick to dictate play. It seems in most cases Brown has won out the battle, much to the dismay of Kopitar and Gaborik.
Apart they are two key pieces to the success of the Los Angeles Kings. Together they are two players and styles that are constantly going to step on each other's toes. It hasn't changed in eight years and it won't change now.
As The Offspring once said in their 1994 hit "Come out and Play", ya gotta keep 'em separated.
Follow me on twitter for news and notes about the Kings and the NHL
Also be sure to like HockeyBuzz on facebook!
++++I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR ADVERTISERS! If you, or anyone you know would be interested in placing an ad on the blog here at HockeyBuzz then send me a PM!+++++
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»