Mitchell making an impact

A major part of the Kings’ success in this early part of the season has been the penalty kill — the Kings are ranked fourth in the league this morning in kill percentage (89.1) — and a big part of the penalty kill has been Willie Mitchell. The Kings have allowed five power-play goals in 10 games, and Mitchell has only been on the ice when three of them were scored. Plus, he has a shorthanded goal on his ledge. For the season, Mitchell has one goal and four assists in 10 games and has a plus-5 rating. Terry Murray talked about the play of one of the Kings’ summer acquisitions…

MURRAY: “Willie Mitchell’s penalty-killing has been outstanding for us. That’s one of the strengths that he has in his game, is the checking, defensive part of it. He’s a very intelligent guy. He thinks the game very well, thinks it quickly. That rises to the forefront on the penalty-killing part of it. He can find his teammates. He reads off his partner very well and his positioning and his use of his very long stick is a great advantage. I think that’s a big part of the reason why the penalty-kill percentage is where it is right now, is because of the composure of a veteran player.”

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