Flames always bring some heat

There typically isn’t much breathing room between the Kings and Calgary Flames. The Kings are 2-1 against the Flames this season, including a 3-1 loss in the second game of the season (the third Flames goal going into an empty net), followed by a 2-1 Kings win at Staples Center on Dec. 9 and a 4-3 Kings shootout win at Calgary on Feb. 5. Last season, the Kings dropped three of four games against the Flames, and three of the four were one-goal games. With both teams battling for their playoff lives tonight — the Kings are two points ahead of the 10th-place Flames — Terry Murray knows that another tight game could be ahead.

MURRAY: “It’s a hard team for us to play against. We haven’t had a lot of success, over the past couple of years that I’ve been here. They’re a hard-working, very intense team. They check hard, they cycle the puck with great purpose in the offensive zone, and we’ve got to make sure that we’re just doing the right thing and staying on the right side of people. They work hard to beat you off the boards, off the cycle, and if you’re not rolling in front of that forward that’s coming hard to the net, you’re going to pay a price. So, defensively, you’ve got to check, and on the other part of it, we’ve got to get back and put some more pucks to the net and try to get some goals.”