No hesitation on returning players

Trent Hunter hasn’t played in a game in 11 days, and Colin Fraser hasn’t played in a game in more than six months. Tonight, they will both be in the Kings’ lineup, and is that a cause for concern? Players who haven’t been in game action for a while can sometimes but rusty, and now the Kings will have two guys trying to get their “game shape’’ back. It’s certainly not as pronounced for Hunter, who has only missed five games, but for Fraser, his return has been a long time coming. I asked Terry Murray today whether he had any concerns about putting both players in the lineup tonight…

MURRAY: “Well, a player has to get started at some time. You can wait and just practice, to get to another game I suppose, but it happens to be Vancouver, who (Fraser) would have played against many times coming from Chicago, and had success against them as a team and won the Stanley Cup in Chicago. I don’t think, with his kind of a game, that I’m overly concerned with the high-end skill level. I’m looking at a very intense player, with a real compete attitude, who’s going to play a gritty game and go to the net and get on the forecheck. So with that kind of a game, I’m not hesitant to put him. I know he’s been a bit of a caged animal. He’s looking forward to getting the opportunity.’’