Do the numbers lie?

If Kings coach Terry Murray is concerned about the play of Matt Greene and/or Jack Johnson, he’s doing a good job of publicly hiding it. Greene and Johnson had been a pair, but were split up before the Montreal game, and tonight the Kings are expected to stay with the same pairs (Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez, Johnson and Rob Scuderi, Greene and Davis Drewiske). Johnson had a plus-5 rating through 15 games, but is minus-10 in his last six. Greene had a plus-5 rating through his first nine games but is minus-6 in his last six. Of course, the merit of the plus-minus stat is often debated — and rightfully so — and today, Murray talked about the play of each defenseman, starting with Johnson.

MURRAY: “That’s the unfortunate thing about it. There are minuses there, and they build up pretty quickly. There were two games there where it was minus-3, two games in a row. You take a look at performance on the ice, and it’s not a matter of placing responsibility anywhere else, because it’s a team effort, but sometimes you’re in the play and you’re just (in one place) and it happens over there. And you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, or it’s a line change and there’s not a lot you can do about it. Now, what you can do about it on the other side, offensively, is creating and scoring and shooting the puck more often, in order to get some points and get some pluses on that side of it. I watch and analyze the defensive part of it. There’s more than 50 percent of those minuses where he’s just doing his job, in the play, and it goes in.”

(on Greene’s recent play…)
MURRAY: “He’s such an important part of our team. In the off-ice part of it, he’s obviously one of the captains, but his leadership in the locker room is incomparable, when it comes to that vocal preparedness for the rest of the guys and himself. On the ice, his game is good. He was better, at times, on the checking side, more physical. I think there have been a couple of goals against him, when he’s out there, that we’d all like to see a different look, a different reaction, but overall his game has been pretty good. It’s more (about) effectiveness than minutes for me. I think, overall, his game has been effective for us. It’s getting back to where it was at the early part of the year for us right now.”