The Los Angeles Kings don't seem too concerned about Dustin Brown, who suffered what they're calling a minor hamstring injury during training camp drills on Friday. Since becoming a full-time winger for the Kings in 2005-06, the 28-year-old forward hasn't played any less than 78 games in a full 82-contest campaign. Durability is one of the many strengths this goal-scoring, hit-accumulating player brings to the table, and it doesn't sound like that factor is in too much peril right now. It's wise to keep an eye on it, though.

Kings captain Dustin Brown, who suffered a torn PCL in his left knee during Game 6 of the second round of the NHL playoffs last season, has received a clean bill of health and is ready to hit the ice when training camp opens next week. Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said Brown's knee healed in the off-season without surgery.

Los Angeles Kings captain has been uneasy this off-season. "You don't know what you've lost until you've won it," Brown told NHL.com. "Doing what we did in 2012 showed not only the players, but the staff and management, what it actually means and how special it is to win it, so the next year when you don't win it you feel like you've lost a lot more than you did." He added: "We didn't play up to our potential and we made it the Western Conference Final. I don't think that's a surprise, but in a roundabout way it's a positive out of a negative. We were one of the final four teams and I don't think we played anywhere near to our potential." He also said: "We've reached the level of winning the Stanley Cup, being in back-to-back Western Conference Finals, so going forward it's not going to be acceptable to lose in the playoffs. That's a high expectation, but that's the expectation that the players have, the group of guys in here now. We know what we're capable of doing."

Los Angeles Kings sign Dustin Brown to eight-year contract extension. Brown and the team began contract talks in June after the Kings' season ended. Brown has one year left on his current deal, which will pay him $3.5 million this season. The new deal will begin with the 2014-15 season and carry Brown through the 2021-22 campaign and is reportedly worth a little over $5.75 million per season. Although Brown struggled through the postseason, he remains the heart and soul of the Kings, which made the extension an absolute must for GM Dean Lombardi.

The Los Angeles Kings have commenced contract extension discussions with captain Dustin Brown. Brown has one year left on his contract. His deal is one of the league's best bargains with just a $3.175 million cap hit, which was signed way back in 2008-09. He's in line for a substantial raise. Kings GM Dean Lombardi has a knack for signing guys to bargain deals before breakthroughs, particularly with guys like Brown and Jonathan Quick.

Dustin Brown suffered a torn PCL in his knee during Game 6 of the second round. Brown played through it, but had no points and a minus-three rating in the Western Conference finals. Overall, Brown was a physical force in the postseason, but he didn't do much offensively. That's in contrast to the 2012 playoffs when he tied for the league lead with 20 points in 20 games.

Dustin Brown talked about the Los Angeles Kings transitioning from a team that's learning how to win to one that's learning how to handle success. When the Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012, they were doing so in defiance of the majorities expectations. Now, they're far less of an unknown quantity. "It's just dealing with adversity, I think," Brown said when asked what it will take to win the Cup a second time. "Being down two-nothing in St. Louis, we responded well in that series. And then going into a Game 7, I thought we had a really good game - same thing against San Jose. It's just little things. I think at the end of the day, though, for this group, it's that we've been in the trench hole together for a long time. It's not like we were all thrown together last year and did something great. The majority of our guys have been together for four or five years, and that goes a long way in building the trust and the bonds that you need to have to deal with the really hard parts of the game."

Dustin Brown is fourth in the NHL playoffs with 57 hits. The Kings are a hard hitting team and the Chicago Blackhawks could find themselves a big banged up after a few games in the Western Conference Final as four Kings are in the top 14 in hits while Bryan Bickell and Brent Seabrook are the top Chicago players with 35 hits, which is tied for 19th overall. Brown is leading player still playing with Boston's Milan Lucic only two hits behind.

Dustin Brown scored the lone Kings goal in a 2-1 loss to San Jose Sunday night. The goal was only the third tally and fourth point of the playoffs for the Los Angeles captain, who was a superstar during last year's Stanley Cup run. While another point-per-game pace might have been a little too much to expect, four points in 10 games simply doesn't pay the bills.

The Los Angeles Kings are only a win away from advancing to the Western final but there are strong reasons to suggest that the win may not come tonight against the Sharks in San Jose. The Kings haven't been able to score in San Jose. In fact, the defending champions haven't played well on the road during the playoffs at all this season. They are 1-4 outside the Staples Center, a big difference from last spring, when the Kings went 10-1 on the road en route to the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship. This year, they've scored more than one goal on the road only once in the playoffs, and that was during their 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 5 of their first-round series. Not surprisingly, that's the Kings' only road win in five tries. "We've got to find a way to score goals on the road," Kings leader Dustin Brown said. "That's about preparation and doing the right things. San Jose has a really hard building to play in, but that's not to say we can't do what we need to do to get more goals. That's about commitment, getting to the net, getting pucks to the net. At the end of the day, all of us, it's about will this time of year."