A hopeful future and the glorious past will intertwine Saturday when the Kings host the Pittsburgh Penguins following a ceremony that will see a new banner – BROWN 23 – adorn the rafters at Crypto.com Arena: .
The celebration to honor Dustin Brown has been promoted heavily all season, and his name and number will sway fittingly next to banners touting the only two Stanley Cup titles in Kings history, both of which came during Brown’s intrepid captaincy. The Kings have urged fans to be in their seats no later than 6 p.m. for the affair, 90 minutes before the game’s scheduled start, and there will also be fan festivities outside the arena beginning about 4 p.m.
Once the puck does drop, there’ll be no shortage of connections to Brown and the peak of his career in the early- to mid-2010s. Anze Kopitar, a “brother” to Brown, will captain the Kings. Defenseman Drew Doughty, who roomed with Brown as a rookie, will sport an “A” on his chest. Jonathan Quick, an integral part of both titles, will be with the team as well.
On the opposing bench, not only will the Penguins’ trio of their own greats of the past decade be on hand –– Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang won three Cups between 2009 and 2017 –– but they’ll be accompanied by Jeff Carter, a two-time champion with the Kings.
“From that 12- to 15-year range, (Brown) did it all for us. He scored big goals, he made big hits and he’d fight when he had to,” Carter told Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. “He just kind of played every position and every role and did it to a tee for us.”
As much as nostalgia may reign early in the evening, all eyes will be pointed ahead once the clock begins to tick. For the Kings, it will be the first game following the All-Star break and their own bye week that gave them the rest they earned by tying for the most games played, with the Washington Capitals, prior to the pause.
Meanwhile, the Penguins’ vets have continued to hold their own…
Read the full article here
