Dustin Brown Emblematic of Los Angeles Kings' Puck-Possession Struggles

Entering the 2014-15 campaign, maintaining their enviable balance up front was a top priority for the Los Angeles Kings.

As such, power forward Dustin Brown was a figure to watch intently as he looked to recover from a horrendous 27-point regular season.

It’s been more of the same thus far, though.

Despite notching a power-play goal on Tuesday night, Brown has floundered early on. The Kings have struggled to find their game overall, and it’s perhaps fitting that their captain’s performance has been emblematic of their foremost problem.

Puck Possession

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The 10-5-4 Kings simply aren’t winning in convincing fashion at the moment, and much of that stems from an inability to dictate the flow.

They rank 15th in the league in Corsi percentage—a metric they’ve dominated in recent years—and can’t seem to impose their will for longer than an occasional flurry.

Not surprisingly, Brown’s possession numbers have dropped precipitously as well. This isn't to suggest that he's the sole or primary cause for the team-wide blemish. He is, however, falling well short of his previously established bar.

His Corsi percentage has plummeted from 57.7 last season to 47.1 this season. That’s the third-worst mark among Kings forwards. On the rare occasion when the puck does find its way to the net, it’s of little consequence. He’s registered the fourth-lowest on-ice shooting percentage (3.03) among L.A. forwards.

He’s still getting his touches, but he’s accomplishing virtually nothing with the puck.

Adding to the alarming nature of this decline is the rate at which his play is slipping. Sure, many of the Kings aren’t quite where they should be yet, but Brown’s slide has trumped just about all of theirs.

His relative on-ice Corsi (plus-2.8) ranked seventh among forwards in 2013-14. This season, he comes in at 10th and is on the negative side of the scale (minus-11.9).

Brown ranks dead last in offensive-zone finishes (45.4 percent) and is one of only three forwards (Jarret Stoll, Marian Gaborik) who have started in that end more often than they've finished there.

In a nutshell, with Brown on the ice, L.A. can’t seem to seize control of games.

In late July, I posited that he was the team’s biggest question mark heading into the season and needed to break from his bad habit of skating into trouble and squandering possession.

He’s spent much of the new season turning pucks over once more.

As centers—the heartbeat of the squad—it’s tough to develop any positive momentum when a winger who handles the puck so often hands it back to the opposition indiscriminately.

Anze Kopitar couldn’t get anything going with his longtime linemate earlier in the year. Mike Richards is currently mired in his worst stretch of the season—with Brown mostly featuring on his right side. Stoll and Brown were atrocious together on the third forward unit. In limited action, the captain and Jeff Carter have posted ugly numbers.

In many ways, Brown has become the black hole of every line he joins. Possession dries up and opponents launch a greater number of transition rushes as a result of his constant stream of giveaways.

	TOI	CF% with Brown	CF% w/o Brown	GF% with Brown	GF% w/o Brown
Jarret Stoll	102:39	43.0	47.3	25.0	40.0
Mike Richards	79:44	48.4	48.8	33.3	33.3
Anze Kopitar	44:03	59.5	54.0	0.0	50.0
Jeff Carter	19:34	27.3	54.6	0.0	81.0

Some of this would be easier to stomach if he were producing on the scoresheet.

He’s mustered three points in 19 games. That amounts to a 13-point pace over 82 games and would tie the lowest point-per-game mark of his career.

If last season was bad—and it was really, really bad—then 2014-15 has been an utter abomination so far.

The most curious part of all is that, unlike in 2013-14, he seems physically fit. He’s delivered and taken big hits, his speed is there and he appears perfectly capable of changing directions on a dime.

He’s just making one baffling decision after another.

Considering his current showings in the bottom six—and the reality that Trevor Lewis won’t last as a first-line winger—the club's best-case scenario might be for him to find his stride alongside Kopitar and Gaborik.

The top unit is slowly beginning to shake off the rust, and Kopitar happens to be the only center who can coax the right approach out of Brown.

With less-talented pivots, it appears as though the captain feels more responsible for his line’s offense, which causes him to hesitate and attempt hopeless plays as defenders close in on him. He overthinks the game and starts coughing up the puck in dangerous areas.

With Kopitar, he sticks closer to the script—he skates in a straight line, he shoots, he hits.

He's shown the odd glimpse in 2014-15, such as on his first goal of the season. Against the Edmonton Oilers, he drove to the crease and forced a finesse player (Teddy Purcell) to cover him. Purcell wanted no part of that:

Not only would Brown benefit from more skilled linemates, but Kopitar and Gaborik could also actually use his grit and determination in the trenches. Besides, Kopitar has the mobility, reach and three-zone acumen to put out any fires that No. 23 may start.

Brown's hockey IQ has never been noteworthy—so the more he can rely on instincts rather than measured decision-making, the more success he and his partners will enjoy.

Though he isn’t the engine that drives the Kings by any stretch, he certainly should be more relevant than he’s looked through 19 games.

A mix of sounder judgment and deployment could help to correct his wayward course.

As it stands, he's just lost out there.

Outlook

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Since Alec Martinez is out for now—and newcomers Brayden McNabb and Jamie McBain are still adjusting to their new club—the blue line needs help from the forwards.

On defense and defense alone, L.A. isn’t great. It thrives on owning the puck and throwing it at the opposition in wave upon merciless wave. If merely entering the Kings end becomes a tall order, head coach Darryl Sutter’s troops will have a much simpler job ahead of them.

At present, they’re quite sloppy.

Brown is one of the players who must demand more of himself in this regard. He has to set the tone by cleaning up his puck management and converging toward the other team’s net with more conviction. "That’s what you’ve got to do. You don’t score many goals if you don’t do that," Sutter told reporters after Tuesday's game.

It truly is that simple.

Regardless of who else is with him, Brown doesn't need to single-handedly carry his line. He has to enforce the game plan and start leading by example.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Behind the Net and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.