Time for others to step up?

The Kings have scored two regulation goals in their last three games, and now they’re without their second-leading scorer. Challenge? Yes, that’s a good word for it. Justin Williams ranks third on the team in goals (22) and assists (35) and is second with 57 points. It’s doubtful that any single player will be able to match Williams’ production, although it’s probable that Oscar Moller will get a crack at the top-six role. Moller ranks second on the AHL Manchester Monarchs in goals (23) and points (50) in 59 games this season and has been scoring well of late, with seven goals in his last 10 games. Terry Murray didn’t address Moller in particular, because the transaction had not been completed after practice, but did discuss, in general, the challenge the Kings face in trying to replace Williams’ offensive production…

MURRAY: “It’s hard to match the production. He’s had a good year. He has played well, right from the very first day. When you start losing offense, it seems like it never ends, where you’re searching for that kind of a player. You can have a good hockey club, and you’re still saying, `Gee, we could still use a little bit more on the offensive part of the game.’ So, I don’t know. We’re just going to have to find a way to get some scoring here from other places. I don’t want to put anybody out there, but I’d like to see Poni [Alexei Ponikarovsky] score more. His resume shows that he’s a 20-, 25-goal scorer. I’d like to see that start to come together. Simmer [Wayne Simmonds], his numbers are not where they were last year, but the potential is there to put some goals in the net. So, I think, just other people have to start to chip in, from the forwards right through to the back end.”

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