Loktionov draws praise in return

In his first game back with the Kings since November, Andrei Loktionov played 16 minutes, 30 seconds, last night against Phoenix, including 6:01 of power-play time. Loktionov was credited with one shot on goal, but drew praise from coach Terry Murray and is likely to stay in the same role when the Kings and Coyotes meet again tomorrow night.

MURRAY: “Loktionov was good. He’s a high-skilled player, lots of composure, holding onto the puck. The first power play, I thought there was a lot of pressure being applied, and he was the player that grabbed the puck in that half-board area and was able to do a couple of evasive moves and settle things out. The penalty killers backed off, and now you can look to move it around and get some opportunities set up through puck movement. That’s the thing that he can do, on 5-on-5 and certainly on the power play. We look forward to him continuing to show us the same thing. He can play a very important player, to help us get this power play settled out.”

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