Can Brown, Kopitar find a way to break through?

There’s been plenty of talk about Dustin Brown’s lack of production in the Stanley Cup Finals, and understandably so. Through the first three rounds, Brown was one of the breakout stars of this postseason, as he had seven goals and nine assists in 14 games. In five Finals games, he has zero goals and one assist. A couple things about that. One, clearly the New Jersey Devils are making a point of taking a physical game to Brown. His time and space has been severely limited. On a related note, remember that Brown is playing his off-wing. When he moved to left wing, during the regular season, Brown said he enjoyed it but that it did make it a bit more difficult for him to take passes and get going out of his zone. No doubt, the Devils scouted that, and they’re making it more difficult for him to get the puck and make plays. Then again, that explanation only carries so far, because the same scenario was in place against Vancouver, St. Louis and Phoenix.

It was noted that, late in the third period last night, Darryl Sutter made a line-combination change, as he put Simon Gagne up in a first-line role with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. Darryl Sutter, to no surprise, declined to say what he would do with his lineup in Game 6, but Sutter downplayed the line changes.

SUTTER: “Three or four shifts only. That was it. Brownie, he’s spending a lot of energy. You’re just trying to watch it a little bit. Gagne played about 10 minutes last night. That’s probably about what he can give you. They have to be very high-end minutes. (When) you’re doing that, you’re cutting down to three lines plus one guy. That’s what we were doing there. Between (Trevor Lewis) and (Dwight King) and (Brown), we were just kind of moving those three guys.’’

Every player, even the most prolific, is a bit worn-down and bruised at this point, and Brown did acknowledge that the Devils have been trying to take it to him. “For me personally, it’s probably been a more physical series than the previous,’’ Brown said. “I probably was on the receiving end of more hits in this series than any other.’’ Drew Doughty, Brown’s teammate and road roommate, said he doesn’t see Brown’s game being negatively impacted, though.

DOUGHTY: “I don’t think I see any difference. He’s still working hard. He’s still banging and crashing. He’s working hard defensively, getting in lanes. He’s trying to make plays with the puck. Just, right now, the bounces aren’t going his way. In the first few series, every bounce was going his way. At times, that’s how it’s going to work, and other times it’s not. But I know him, and he’s going to work his hardest to have his best game in Game 6.’’

Now, here’s the other side of it. How much of the issue is Brown, and how much is Kopitar? Frankly, Brown looked fine in the first period, when he used a power move to drive to the front of the Devils’ net and nearly stuffed one past Martin Brodeur. But where has his center been? In the last two games, Kopitar has exactly zero shots on goal, and overall he has looked more lethargic than Brown. Is it unreasonable to suggest that if Kopitar gets going, Brown might get going as well?

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