In first game after bye, Brown hoping for a “work” game over a “skill” game

They’re not quite State of the Union addresses, but Dustin Brown has always done an admirable job of divorcing himself from emotion and articulately answering all questions about the team without bias or prejudice. It was why when the veteran was available for a brief chat after Wednesday’s practice, he was a popular figure.

In speaking with reporters, Brown touched on the team’s focus coming out of the bye week, which has proven to be a gremlin for nine of the 12 teams that have dropped their first game back after the schedule break.

The key for the Kings, as Brown said, is to make Thursday’s game more dependent on work ethic (7:30 p.m. / FOX Sports West / FOX Sports GO / KABC 790 / I Heart Radio), because turnovers will be a factor when playing for the first time in six days and against an Arizona team finishing up a three-game road trip. (Detail could also be a challenge for the Coyotes, whose three-in-four took them to Alberta before the trip punctuates warmly in Los Angeles; they’re 1-1-0 thus far.)

“You’ve been off for five days, so if you’re trying to fancy pass it through a guy’s stick, sometimes in a game like this you’ve just got to simplify,” Brown said. “We say that a lot as players, I know, like, ‘simplify our game.’ In a game like tomorrow, it’s really important that we don’t have turnovers, probably more so important, if you know what I mean. I mean, some players can get there real quick, but if we can eliminate and make it a work game as opposed to a skill, feet and hands game. Make it a head and a legs game and it’s probably better for us.”

Dustin Brown, on whether he thought about the season during the bye week:
You don’t really think about — I mean, you have a real good picture of where we’re at and where we need to continue to go and then today is just get as much work in, get your timing and your hands going for tomorrow because it’s a divisional game and obviously at this point in the season, two points is vital.

Brown, on other teams struggling when coming off their bye weeks:
I think physically there’s not much you can do. It’s more the mental side that can maybe make up for the physical. If you’re mentally sharp, that goes a long way. Physically, five days off the ice when you’re used to skating everyday, it’s something different right? That’s why today’s important but if you can get to tip-top shape mentally then it can maybe offset the physical part: the fumbling, the timing. If you’re there mentally, that’s probably the more important part.

Brown, on whether he feels “refreshed”:
I felt fine today physically. I mean, like I said, playing in a game is going to be a lot different, but I think every team is kind of learning because it’s something that’s never really happened. I mean, you have the All-Star break, that’s three days, but it’s different. It’s an extended five days, you know, so probably the only thing closest is the Olympics. But then it’s like you have a mini training camp for the guys that aren’t at the Olympics. And then when I played at the Olympics we had like a couple days off and then go, so it was fine.

Brown, on whether the Kings’ “experience” will help coming back to game action:
That’s what I was going to say. I mean, we’re experienced but not many guys have had a five-day break and went to Mexico or wherever they went so like I said, ultimately it comes down to the mental side of it. The physical part, you’ll feel better as the game goes on but if you’re not sharp mentally right from the get go, we’re playing [Arizona] and they’ve been playing the last four, five days. I mean, we’ve got Florida coming off a break and, you know.

Brown, on whether the Kings spoke about mental sharpness during practice:
We didn’t like have an official address about it but I think guys, you know, most guys have been in this situation. It’s just like coming off an injury. Watch a guy come off an injury, it’s kind of that mentality, really.