Puck management preached pregame

Want to know if the Kings are on track early in tonight’s game? Well, the coaches will be looking at puck management, particularly in terms of getting it through the neutral zone without sloppy plays and/or turnovers. Here’s what Terry Murray said this morning about what he feels is the biggest area in need of improvement by the Kings…

MURRAY: “We had a team meeting yesterday. The message is the puck management. We go back and break games down, and we’re looking at critical situations when we have possession of the puck, and what is the end result when we do have that possession. Whether it starts with a breakout, or through a neutral-zone play, or even on an attack, when you get into the early part of the offensive zone, at the top of the circles, we end up turning the puck over far too many times, and inviting the other team to counter-attack, spending more time in our D zone than what it necessary. The number is too high right now. We need to have more of that, getting pucks in, forecheck attitude, and putting pucks to the net to create those other opportunities. That brings everybody into the game. That gets the four lines flowing and gets our legs going. Attitude-wise, I think it has a big impact on how you play the game the rest of the way. We have to make sure that we’re establishing that kind of a concept right from the very beginning.”