Stoll's return

Jarret Stoll, who has missed seven games since he suffered a groin injury on Dec. 14, will be back tomorrow when the Kings play at San Jose. Look for Stoll to play limited minutes 5-on-5, at least early on, with Raitis Ivanans and Oscar Moller, but also for Stoll to get regular time on special teams. As Terry Murray mentions below, Stoll’s faceoff ability will also be a welcomed addition. Here’s what Stoll and Murray said today about Stoll’s return…

STOLL: “We’ve been taking it a little bit further every day, and pushing it a little harder and harder every day. I think I’ve been skating now for close to a week, so it feels good. I’m anxious to get back in the lineup and contribute and help the team win.”

MURRAY: “I’ll get him in on the fourth line. We’ll get him in some power play and penalty kill and get him started again and build from there.”

Question: I’m sure you’ll be happy to get him in on some faceoffs as well…

MURRAY: “Yeah, especially on his strong side, on the right side. The last couple games, our faceoff percentage has been below our expectations, so hopefully he will give us a stronger look on that right side.”

Question: The fact that you’re getting some good play from the second and third lines, does that make it easier to put Stoll in that fourth-line role for now?

MURRAY: “I could easily make a change. It’s not that I would be unhappy with anybody. I really like, actually, what’s going on with Richardson’s line, and Zeus’ line has been good. But also, my philosophy with that is that once the player comes back, he’s going to get put in his normal position. But this is a different circumstance. We want to bring him back into the game the right way. We have tomorrow, then a couple days of practice, then another game. I think that would give a good feel to him, as to how he comes out of it, and let him continue to build his strength back.”

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