Crawford Hopes Blake Can Improve Power Play

The easiest two minutes in hockey? You could make a case for its being the Kings’ power play last season -- when opposing players went to the penalty box and the Kings too often went on hiatus.

It went beyond a lack of success. The Kings rarely seemed comfortable with a man advantage. They tied the Phoenix Coyotes for the league lead with 541 power plays, yet finished 29th in efficiency. Only the Chicago Blackhawks were worse.

The Kings showed signs of improvement with four power-play goals in a 7-1 exhibition victory over the Ducks on Monday, though it came against a less experienced team. The Kings were reminded of last season’s struggles when they went scoreless on eight power plays against the more experienced San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Still, hope floats in the Kings’ dressing room.

“I think it is going to be a lot better this season,” center Eric Belanger said. “For one thing, we got more players who can play on the power play. Last season, it seemed like it was the same guys who knew they were going to be out there, even if they didn’t score.”

Coach Marc Crawford is banking on the return of defenseman Rob Blake to give the power play more oomph this season.

“Having Rob Blake lends credibility to the power play,” Crawford said. “I don’t think it will be so much what we do technically. It will be more the overall talent level of our guys. We have some skilled young players ... and Rob and [Lubomir Visnovsky] give us two talented defensemen who can score on the power play.”

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There were two obvious highlights for the Kings on Tuesday. Blake scored a goal, and no one booed when he touched the puck -- little victories in a 3-1 loss to the Sharks at Staples Center.

“I was a little nervous before the game,” said Blake, who was treated as a pariah by fans after being traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. “I don’t know why. I guess I was looking to move forward.”

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The Kings shift their training camp to Las Vegas today, where they will practice and have team-bonding activities before playing the Avalanche at the MGM Grand Hotel on Saturday.... The Kings trimmed their roster to 31 Wednesday, with no surprises. ... Forward Lauri Tukonen (shoulder) skated with the team but was not allowed to participate in contact drills.... Forward George Parros didn’t practice because of a sore groin.

chris.foster@latimes.com