Of all the problems on the road trip, scoring (or a lack thereof) is the most obvious. The Kings, in their five games, have scored 2, 2, 2, 2 and 1 goals. Give some credit, at least, to the last three opposing goalies — Henrik Lundqvist, Chris Osgood and Steve Mason are no slouches – but the offensive numbers just haven’t been there, as they often weren’t last season, when the Kings finished 27th in goals per game. Terry Murray was asked today about the lack of production, and whether the Kings were sometimes passing up opportunities to get pucks on net.
MURRAY: “I thought that in part of the game last night, we were. As we got into the third period, we started to pick that part up again. We were getting pucks to the net and better traffic. We’re getting some opportunities; we’re just not scoring. We came in on the back door, and Stolly had a great opportunity on the power play there last night. Simmer intercepts a pass in the high slot and walks in. We have to go after it harder. If we’re not making the pretty plays, then we have to get really dug in and get to the areas that, we’re going to have to find a way to get it done in those places.
“But we’ve got to score, obviously. We’ve got to dig in. Our power play has taken a step backward on us now. Our entries are not as crisp as what they were in the first four games, and the offensive-zone play is not quite the same. I think I have to factor in the flu situation there, with our guys the last couple games. Some of the skill guys are just a little under the weather in that area, but you’ve got to find a way to get it done in a critical point in the game. That’s an area that we talked about many times last year. There’s times in the game where, this is it, this is our opportunity and we have to capitalize on it.’’
Rules for Blog Commenting
Repeated violations of the blog rules will result in site bans, commensurate with the nature and number of offenses.
Please flag any comments that violate the site rules for moderation. For immediate problems regarding problematic posts, please email zdooley@lakings.com.