Matt Murray has been a Kings fan since the late '80s, when Wayne Gretzky grabbed headlines by defecting to the West Coast. Since then, he has been a card-carrying bandwagon member as the club soared in popularity with their sole Stanley Cup appearance to their position near the bottom of the Pacific. But things are looking brighter, as he is anxious to witness the rise of the new Kings.
More of the same with the Kings' power play?
What do the Kings' first periods of Friday night's game against the Ducks and Saturday night's game against St. Louis have in common?
Give up?
No, it's not the fact that the Kings outshot their opponents, two shots to one. Although, that's a pretty impressive stat.
No, in the first period of each game, the Kings had four power play opportunities. And each game, they came away with no goals.
In what has become an almost unbearable cross to bear, the Kings simply cannot score while they have an extra man on the ice. It's gotten so bad, some fans jokingly ask if the Kings could decline the penalty, like in football. In the past three seasons under Andy Murray, the Kings scored on the man-advantage 14.2 percent of the time, near the bottom of the league. Last season, the Kings were tied with Chicago and Columbus for the worst power play. That fact was probably one of the major reasons Murray and his staff was let go.
It is early, but things are looking up for Los Angeles. Young players, untouched by Murray's poisonous offensive philosophy, are being more aggressive, taking more shots at the net. Not only that, but they are crashing the net to follow their own shots up. That is a recipe for success.
However, the Kings still were 1-for-15 on the power play, against a toothless Blues team, which had the league-worst goals scored average last season.
