Coach Terry Murray pinpoints to Kings’ power-play problems

Kings Coach Terry Murray had to clear his throat twice before he could answer a question about the team’s power play.

That’s one more “ahem” than power-play successes the Kings have had this season.

“No, it’s not a good thing,” he said of their league-worst 4.6% success rate, on one goal in 22 chances.

“It’s not a good thing [as far as] the result, but there have been power plays that we’ve been very good on. Power-play breakouts have been, I think, tremendous throughout the year. It’s our offensive possession recovery that is a concern for me and now it’s leading to other things. Because you’re not getting the recovery frustration can become a little part of it and other areas start to break down.”

Murray said getting the puck to the net is key to boosting the offense and reviving a power play that last season ranked 12th in the NHL with a 19.9% conversion rate. The Kings are averaging 27.5 shots per game, 28th in the NHL before Friday’s games.

“We’re not shooting the puck enough,” Murray said after the team practiced at the Pepsi Center to prepare for Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. “Our net presence is pretty good, but it needs to be better than last year and we’re not at that point yet.”

Center Jarret Stoll, who plays the point on the power play, called the struggles “disappointing,” and said the power-play unit must move the puck more quickly and more accurately.

“Anytime there’s a bobbled puck, any penalty-killing team is coming with all four guys,” he said. “We’ve got to make better passes — passing receiving and shoot the puck more, getting it through. Sometimes we’re a little too cute on the outside, passing it around, looking for that perfect one-timer for that perfect play, whatever it is.”

As winger Justin Williams noted, the Kings’ power play was strong early last season, but the penalty killers struggled; it’s reversed now, with the penalty killers neutralizing 24 of 26 disadvantages. And although the Kings will miss Drew Doughty while he recovers from a concussion, Williams said they have the personnel to ramp up their power play.

“Every opportunity we get we should fire it. People will respect that,” he said. “One for 22 stinks, but it’s only Game 6. We can get this thing rolling and be in the top 10 in the league, no problems.”

Mitchell doesn’t blame Cole for Doughty’s injury

Defenseman Willie Mitchell, who played only 48 games last season after suffering a severe concussion, was in a difficult spot Wednesday when Doughty suffered his head injury in a collision with Carolina’s Erik Cole.

Doughty is Mitchell’s defense partner, but Cole is his former college teammate at Clarkson. Mitchell said he didn’t think the incident warranted a penalty; none was called and the NHL didn’t impose supplementary discipline.

“It’s tough for me to comment because that’s my best friend who hit him on the other side,” Mitchell said. “I talked to him after the game. It was an accident. He was turning one way and Drew was turning the other way and they both ran into each other. You feel bad about it, that’s for sure.”

Mitchell also said he had talked to Doughty and would gladly advise him through his recovery.

“Being a veteran player and having a few injuries, hopefully I’m a springboard for him as far as bouncing a few feelings or opinions on stuff,” he said.

Greene’s return imminent

Defenseman Matt Greene might make his season debut Saturday. Murray said he would confer with his assistant coaches and decide whether Greene, who underwent shoulder surgery in late July, is ready to go.

With Doughty out, Murray said he is likely to switch his defense pairs around, as he did in Thursday’s 4-2 loss to Phoenix. Peter Harrold was added to the lineup, usually paired with Davis Drewiske. But Drewiske also played alongside Jake Muzzin and Murray said he’ll switch according to how much time the special teams are getting and who’s playing well.

Slap shots

Waivers on goaltender Erik Ersberg will expire at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, but it’s not certain what the Kings will do if he clears because they promoted Martin Jones from Ontario of the ECHL to Manchester of the American Hockey League. Assistant general manager Ron Hextall said a decision will be made after waivers expire.

Dustin Brown, hit on the arm Thursday and briefly stunned, practiced normally on Friday. … Left wing Scott Parse, who has yet to play after pulling a groin muscle during training camp, is practicing but Murray said Parse won’t return in the next few games.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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