During his post game presser on Saturday, LA coach Terry Murray said he wouldn’t be sticking with the third period line combinations he used against Detroit – which featured Andrei Loktionov as the third line center and moving Jarret Stoll to the second line left wing.
However, after practice today, he seemed to soften his stance just a bit…
On the thought of Loktionov at center – “I’ve thought about it a lot. Before we got him back up here, that was part of the thought process – where am I going to play him, is it going to be left wing? I felt good about him on the left side and I still do.”
On where Loktionov will play versus St. Louis – “I’ll leave that line the way it is (the second line), with him on the left side, for the game tomorrow. I know I have an option. I know I can make some moves there and he would be one of those players who I could move to a different position if I feel I need to.”
On playing Stoll at center or left wing – “He prefers to be in the middle of the ice. But, sometimes you have to make those kind of changes and we’ll see where this all goes. Loktionov might be fine on the left wing and we’ll just leave him there. I don’t want to put any doubt in anybody’s head here, as to what I might do.”
Comments from Stoll regarding his playing time at left wing – “I just think it was (Murray) trying to get some offense going. Obviously, we weren’t creating much as a forward group. As a coach, I’d probably try and do something different too to try and change it up. I don’t expect him to keep it that way. So, it was what it was.”
For what it’s worth, over the summer Stoll stopped by MayorsManor and we spoke at length about the possibility of him playing center or wing this season. You can read that article here.
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