Moving and shooting

Statistically, the Kings’ power play is making slow and steady improvement. At one point early in the season, the Kings were last in the NHL in power-play efficiency, but after Saturday’s 1-for-4 effort, they have climbed to 15th. That’s still not where they would like to be, of course, but Terry Murray expressed some satisfaction today with the way the Kings were moving the puck on the power play, but the frequency and timing of the shots on goal…

MURRAY: “All of the goals came from the blue line, with the exception of the penalty shot. That’s that shooting mentality that we’re trying to get to, especially on the power play, in the last week and a half, two weeks. I think the early part of the power play, this season, we’ve been cute and fancy and trying to pass the puck into the net. And we did sometimes. It looked real nice. They were highlight-reel goals. But as you try to force that play consistently, inevitably it’s going to stop, it’s going to break down. So getting back to the umbrella, shooting the puck, is fundamentally the right thing to do when things are not going well, and it pays off in 5-on-5 situations as well.”