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Murray wants more from Loktionov ” LA Kings Insider

Murray wants more from Loktionov Posted by Rich Hammond on 6 December 2011, 9:30 am Andrei Loktionov got called up from the AHL after injuries to Dustin Penner and Scott Parse. Shortly thereafter, he got moved to his natural position of center, where Loktionov is presumed to be more comfortable and productive. Still, the points have not followed. Nine games into his latest stint with the Kings, Loktionov has zero goals and two assists. […] Terry Murray would like to see some production from the young center, who is expected to play on the third line tonight with wingers Dustin Penner and Ethan Moreau.

MURRAY: “I need more. I need more from him. He’s getting a pretty good opportunity here to show us what he can do as a player in the center of the ice, playing consistently in an important role. I’d like to see that creativity, that offensive look that I had a good sense for when he was here last year. […] It’s not quite there yet […].

If you want him to be more “creative”, how about giving him some line-mates who aren’t enforcers or reclamation projects in massive career-worst slumps? Here’s another idea: put him on the power-play, instead of (say) Trent Hunter. Yes, I know, Hunter has a different role. Give that role to the Dustins. And let the other PP forwards be Kopitar, Gagne, Loktionov and Williams. Is that really so hard to figure out?

As I mentioned in another context the other day, after Kopitar, Richards and Gagne, the rest of the team has between zero and two even-strength goals. The rest of the entire team.

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