More needed from O'Sullivan
Patrick O'Sullivan had one goal and two assists in the two games before the all-star break, but as you'll read below, Terry Murray can recall from memory that O'Sullivan has only three goals in his last 24 games. He will get quality minutes tonight, playing alongside Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov, and here's what Murray said about the need for more offense from O'Sullivan...
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Question: Safe to say that you'd like to see more scoring from O'Sullivan?
MURRAY: ``Oh yeah. Sully is a skilled player, a scorer. He has three goals in his last 24 games, I think. He got a goal in Minnesota, which was his first one in about a dozen (games). Clearly he knows that, and it's really important that our top players make plays. It's just that time of the year. They have to step up, in the offensive part as well as playing without the puck. That's critical, if we're going to move forward as a solid team in the future. Not even in the next game, but as we move through this as a group, that's the type of play we need. Everyone has to perform, with the puck and away from the puck. I'm hoping that I see, as we get started again here tonight, what Sully was showing in the last couple games. He was on the puck, he was handling it and looking to make plays and he showed more of a committment to the `battle' part of the game, to get pucks back. That's what we're going to have to have, everyone buying in and doing the right stuff.''
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J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews
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Maybe if you try him on the same line for more than a period or two, you'd see some production.
MR. TM!!!!!!!!!
If Sully doesn't get a hat trick in the 1st period, that line will be split up.
I GUARANTEE IT
What B.S.!!! Play him on one line consistently then the coach can talk about what he "needs" from Sully. He is programming him to fail. Whatever line Sully happens to be on tonite won't last more than 5 minutes.
POS has been getting good ice time and just hasn't been getting it done, blaming it on his linemates is just excuse making. He's on the PP and still doesn't score! Give the time to Calder!
A win's a win, but once again Murray has to tinker, and he removes Richardson from his line in the 3rd period, inserts Frolov with Handzus and Simmonds (Frolov scores, so Murray is a genius.) He moves HARROLD up front to play with Kopitar and O'Sullivan. Laughable on many levels, but in a win it seems pointless to criticize, but it's bizarre how O'Sullivan can't even get through a single game without a radical shift in linemates.