Two-man (dis)advantage

In case you haven’t noticed — except I know that you have — the Kings have not been good on two-man advantage power plays this season. In fact, they’re 2-for-13 with a two-man advantage. That’s 15.4 percent, compared to their overall power-play percentage of 19.6. That’s almost inexplicable. Overall on the power play, the Kings rank 12th, slightly above average, but the two-man advantage remains a nut they’ve rarely been able to crack.

That shortcoming was glaring last night. The Kings had a 46-second, 5-on-3 advantage, and seven seconds after the Canucks got back to full strength, they went on the power play. Seven seconds later, they scored what would turn out to be the game-winning goal, for a 2-0 lead.

Today, I asked Terry Murray if there was anything, structurally, that he saw popping up in the 5-on-3s…

MURRAY: “Well, in the one last night, it comes down to getting possession of the puck, starting with faceoff wins and then entries. That’s where it gives you an opportunity to have as much time with possession as possible. That was a difficult one last night, with generating any opportunities, with shot mentality, net presence, just not getting it done. That’s all there was to it.

“That 5-on-3, to me, was a really good reflection of how we came to start the game. A little too casual. We’re the No. 1 team, and teams are going to play their best. Vancouver was one of the big dogs in the league last year, and they are going to put some points on the board with that homestand that they’re in right now. You need to be prepared to play smart and intense.”