Reviving the power play

Since the Olympic break, the Kings’ power play has scored at a 32.6-percent clip, the best percentage in the NHL. For the season, the Kings rank sixth in the league at 21 percent. So, in general, the power play has been a strong point, but it was a definite weak point in the last two games, in which the Kings went 1-for-7 in each, and lost both. Terry Murray talked this morning about getting the power play back on track…

MURRAY: “It’s the difference in the (Dallas) game. It’s the critical point of the game. It is the difference. When you look at the opportunities in St. Louis, they came right away. Those are difficult ones, because the flow has not been established and guys have not had a shift yet, but that’s the test all the time, be ready to get going and do the right stuff. What we got away from, to me, is shooting the puck. We’re hesitant, over-looking, over-analyzing and over-passing the puck. We just have to get back to shooting it more on the special-teams looks. When you get those one or two breaks, lucky goals, you start to get the confidence to make plays.”

Murray was then asked if the lack of a shot mentality also extended to 5-on-5 play…

MURRAY: “I think it goes the other way, actually. I think it started with our 5-on-5 play and it has effected our power-play mentality. We come back from the Olympic break, and our net presence is something that I’ve addressed several times with our team. We got away from that, and the same with the shots. Maybe the net presence has effected the shot mentality. You clearly take a look, and you’re trying to cycle and make a play to the net, and you’re saying, `Why shoot it? There’s no one there for traffic, for screens.’ So you look to make another play, and then you start to break away with some bad habits.”