Two games, one completed

Andrei Loktionov’s second NHL game went far better than his first, for the mere fact that it didn’t end with him on a table, writhing in pain. Loktionov made his NHL debut last November in Edmonton but suffered a serious shoulder injury that cost him much of the rest of the season. After being a healthy scratch for the first two games, Loktionov played on the first line Tuesday night with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. I asked Terry Murray today for his thoughts on Loktionov’s game…

MURRAY: “I liked him. I thought he was good. He makes plays. He had the puck on his stick a fair amount. When he does get it, in those pressure situations, he ended up thinking that he could make something very creative out of it. There was a play, I remember, when Kopi passed him the puck. I think it was in the second period. He delayed, under a lot of pressure, and found Scuds coming in as the late defenseman, and we got a play to the net with Kopi driving through. That’s a pretty smart play, because a lot of guys just would have got the puck quickly to the net. But he was composed and calm under the pressure. He got hit a couple times and it had no effect whatsoever. He bounces back and gets right back into the play. First impressions, first game, is very good.”

Does that mean Loktionov will stay on the first line Friday against Vancouver? “I’m going to think about it,” Murray said. “I think so. I don’t want to go away from it that quickly.”