Not enough stops after scores

Terry Murray knew what was coming. After practice today, Bob Miller started to ask Murray a question about the number of times, this season, the Kings have scored a goal and then quickly allowed one. Bob got to the word “goal,” and Murray jumped in with, “It’s nine times.” Murray said his standard was three minutes, meaning times in which the Kings have allowed a goal three minutes or less after they scored a goal. Actually, I went through all the recaps and (using Murray’s standard of three minutes) found 14 instances this season. including 10 in the last 16 games. (On the other hand, nine times this season the Kings scored a goal three minutes or less after allowing one).

It happened last night, when the Kings tied the game 1-1 in the second period, on Kyle Clifford’s goal, then fell behind again (for good) just 25 seconds later. The other particularly rough one was in San Jose on Nov. 15, when it happened twice. The second time, the Kings pulled within 4-3 in the second period, then allowed a goal 43 seconds later. Regardless of whether the number is 9 or 14, it’s a lot.

MURRAY: “It’s a concern. It’s a very big concern. The attitude, after scoring, it should be a rallying opportunity. It’s a critical point in the game, and that’s where you need to have your focus, that, `OK, we have to get right back at it. We have them on their heels a little bit.’ Everybody is going to reel after a goal against. We have to establish that part of the game immediately, on the next shift, the next two or three shifts, to keep the momentum going that way. Like last night, 25 seconds later, they score. That’s happened, now, nine times, where we’re in a checking mode. `Let’s not go after them. Let’s wait and see what happens,’ that kind of an attitude, and it’s a concern that that’s in the locker room, that we are thinking that way right now.

“How do you deal with it? Sometimes you avoid it, sometimes you hit it dead-on and talk about it. I did. I’m bringing it up in the meetings. Again today, I talked about it. To me, there has to be a big focus put on that part of it. Over the history of the game, it’s such an important point in the game. We have to understand, as a young team, that this means a lot. If you have a goal scored against you, it’s the same thing. Now we have to really put focus and dig in and do the right stuff here, for the next few shifts, to kill their momentum. So we’re not going to avoid it.”