NHL Playoffs 2012: Dustin Brown Cementing L.A. Kings Captaincy Now and Forever

I hope Dustin Brown relishes his role as captain of the Los Angeles Kings because he has earned and is solidifying that position for now and the future with his late-season play, especially his performance in the playoffs.

Brown scored the game-winning goal (fourth of the series in three games) in the third period last night and delivered a clean, bone-crushing hit on Vancouver's captain Henrik Sedin in the second period—a hit that could have turned the tide of the game and led the Kings to the 1-0 win.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty told Rich Hammond of lakingsinsider.com his opinion of whether or not the hit was a turning point in the game:

"I don't know. It was definitely a big hit by Brownie. That was one of the better hits I've seen in a long time. To do it on a star player, their best player, is just an even keyer part. It definitely gave us some momentum, to show that our leadership was showing the way to go. We've all just got to follow that."

Unlike his teammates, I have not always been a staunch Dustin Brown supporter.

I have always thought Brown was a good, solid player, but was never really sold on him as an impact-type player.

Yes, I know he adds value to the team with his physical play, but I have to admit when Brown was allegedly being shopped around at the NHL trade deadline, I wasn't disappointed or fearful the Kings would part with Brown because we needed scoring, and Brown wasn't exactly filling up the score sheet.

I thought Brown could be traded for a player who could add more scoring, and possibly more value to the Kings than Brown provided.



Not only that, but I thought that maybe Brownie, if he remained on the team, should have been stripped of his captaincy because he was too quiet, not enough of a leader and frankly, not producing enough to be the captain.

I thought we had a better choice in the more vocal Mike Richards,...

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