First-line battle

The numbers basically speak for the themselves. The Canucks’ first-line players combined for four points — each Sedin had two — while the Kings’ first-line players had only one point, when Anze Kopitar got the second assist on Jarret Stoll’s first-period goal. Kopitar, Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams combined for seven shots on goal and, at best, one or two memorable scoring chances. Terry Murray was asked today what he could do to jump-start the first line, and Kopitar in particular…

MURRAY: “Well, you can take a player off the ice if you don’t like the matchup. If you’re going to get the D, on the back end, against them all the time, then you can do that, but there’s also a time — and this is the time, actually, in the playoffs — when players have to find a way to get things done, create some space, create some scoring opportunities, don’t look to get too cute, too fancy, more pucks to the net on a consistent basis. That will maybe open some other things up later on in the game. It is the playoffs, so the goals that are scored in the playoffs are sometimes very ugly. The shot mentality might open it up for you.”