`Dream pair’ might have to wait a while

Jack Johnson’s new seven-year contract extension with the Kings means that he will be around a while, and so will Drew Doughty. The question then, going forward, is, what does the on-ice future hold for each of the young defensemen? Should they play together, or be split up and help form two strong defensive pairings? Terry Murray has gone back and forth on this over the past couple seasons, and the current look has Doughty with Rob Scuderi, and Johnson with Willie Mitchell. That’s not necessarily what Murray has in mind for the long-term future, though…

MURRAY: “Our dream pair, obviously, is with Jack and Doughty. It just seemed to fall off, and that’s a result of team play. It’s no fault of any one player. I would like to see it eventually get back to that and see where it goes. We’ll see how we’re going to respond here, but certainly those are two young guys who can play big minutes and match up against anybody. With what they bring to the game, it would be ideal for us to let them grow together as a future tandem in the National Hockey League. They love to play with each other. They have expressed that to us several times, that it’s a great look for them, a nice feel. We just have to get it through some time here. Hopefully it ends up there.”