from Helene Elliott of the La Times,

Brown and the Kings took a tremendous leap last season, as they built 3-0 series leads in all four rounds and lost only four games. They've already lost five games this spring. Injuries and ineffectiveness have led them to use more players in 12 playoff games than they did in 20 a year ago.

In addition, this group hasn't played a Game 7 together. For years the Kings weren't good enough to get seven games deep into the playoffs, and last spring they were too good for any opponent to take them that far. Eight Kings played in a Game 7 elsewhere, but one of them, concussed center Jarret Stoll, won't play Tuesday.

If the lack of Game 7 experience is a potential drawback, Brown believes that's balanced by the Kings' knowledge of how heavy a toll they must pay to succeed in the playoffs.

"After what we did last year, I always say you don't really know what you're playing for until you've won it," Brown said. "So my perspective on playoffs this year has been completely different from my perspective on playoffs in previous years because I don't think I fully understood what I was playing for until we put ourselves over the top.

"And that's kind of the same way with losing. It's hard to understand what it takes to win until you lose."

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