Glen Murray Doing Job

One player’s misfortune can be another’s opportunity. And winger Glen Murray is taking advantage of the extra playing time he has gotten since center Jozef Stumpel cracked a rib and exited the lineup.

Murray had four goals and five points in the five games leading up to the Kings’ 2-2 tie with the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday, increasing his season totals to 16 goals and 35 points in 50 games. He has always had good speed, but he didn’t always play as big as his size, 6-3 and 225 pounds. Earlier this season, Coach Andy Murray occasionally pared his playing time and contemplated paring it to zero.

Recently, though, the 28-year-old winger has been an offensive force for a team that needs all the production it can get.

“That’s the player we expect him to be,” Andy Murray said. “That’s the way we want Glen to be every night.

“He was close to being scratched a couple of times and we sat him out of a period at times. I think Glen should be a premier power forward in this league, but that’s entirely up to him.”

Glen Murray--no relation to his coach--agrees he’s capable of dominating games.

“It’s been a weird season,” he said Saturday. “I missed [18] games because of my knee injury and it took a while to get back into a groove. I think I’ve gotten back into the groove the last 10 games or so. Maybe I was struggling to score goals a little bit earlier this season. I thought I was working hard and it wasn’t like I wasn’t trying to get out of it.”

Murray attributed his success to linemate Bryan Smolinski. “Being back with Schmo has really helped,” said Murray, who shoots right-handed but plays the left side. “We help each other and play pretty well together.”

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Right wing Ziggy Palffy’s scoring woes continued. He has no goals in six games. . . . Goaltender Stephane Fiset returned to Los Angeles on Saturday after playing only two games on rehabilitation assignment with Lowell of the American Hockey League. With Felix Potvin playing well and expected to start for the foreseeable future, there was no urgency for him to return--unless a trade involving a goalie is afoot before Tuesday’s deadline. “I’m not looking to work anybody in [to a goalie rotation] right now,” Andy Murray said. “I’m just looking at results. That’s what it will be based on.” . . . The Kings will hold their annual “Tip-A-King” charity fund-raising event today.