Dustin Brown talks about learning to win (and lose) in the Stanley Cup playoffs

Kings captain Dustin Brown knows what it’s like to lift the Stanley Cup in triumph. He also knows what it’s like to lose in the first round of the playoffs and have that feeling of anguish while going through the traditional post-series handshake line. He linked the two experiences on the eve of the Kings’ Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks.

“You always remember what it feels like to lose,” Brown said Monday of the Kings’ first-round playoff losses to the Sharks in 2011 and the Vancouver Canucks in 2010. “I think that’s part of it. You almost have to lose before you can win. It’s a motivating factor. When you have that feeling, it stays with you.

“I always say, you don’t know what you’re playing for until you’ve won it. So, my perspective on the playoffs this year has been completely different from my perspectives the previous years because I don’t think I fully understood what exactly I was playing for until we put ourselves over the top. It’s kind of the same way with losing. It’s hard to understand what it takes until you lose.”

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