Don’t let it slip away

The power play is an issue, and top-line scoring and defensive scoring can be discussed, but those are things that tend to ebb and flow. One eye-raising trend, though, during the Kings’ recent wobble, has been their tendency to lose leads. The Kings are 7-0-0 this season when leading after two periods, which is nothing to sneeze at, of course, but in their last game, the Kings lost all of a 3-0 lead against Boston and needed a shootout in order to get two points. Against Buffalo, they led 1-0 and 2-1. Against Columbus, they led 3-2 early in the third period. Against San Jose, they led 1-0. The Kings built much of their success last season around locking down leads, and Terry Murray was asked today whether that has been a point of emphasis lately…

MURRAY: “Oh yeah, we’re talking about it. That was a strong part of our game last year. We were able to protect leads. You’ve got to be able to know how to shut those one-goal games down, and make sure you get the two points. The composure, at times, is an issue. We could make plays, we could make better decisions with the puck coming out of our own zone. The discipline, on some penalties, needs to be there, to be more consistent in that part of it. I think though, sometimes, you’re just kind of off your game. Things are just not happening the way they were, and you have to work your way through it and get back on top of it, and hopefully we’re heading in that direction after the win against Boston.”