Kings pregame: Greene, Purcell in, Jones and Ivanans out

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A couple of changes for the Kings against Buffalo tonight: Defenseman Matt Greene, out four games because of a lower-body injury, was scheduled to return and the struggling Randy Jones was designated to sit.

Also, with the power play in an 0-for-21 slide, Coach Terry Murray reinstated winger Teddy Purcell and took out enforcer Raitis Ivanans.

Purcell hasn’t done much on the power play this season: only one of his three goals was scored with the man advantage and none of his three assists were recorded during power plays, but he had two power-play goals and eight power-play assists last season. He hasn’t played since Dec. 30.

‘We need something good to happen on the power play. He’s a skilled player and it’s the difference in a game,’ said Murray, whose team was scoreless in five power-play chances against San Jose on Tuesday and 0 for three on the penalty kill.

‘If we get him out there in those situations and he’s able to generate some good stuff off the power play, that’s what we need.

‘And he’s done everything we could possibly ask him to do as far as on the ice, extra work, skating, off-ice improving his strength and it shows in his practice and I can’t leave him out there too long. If he’s going to be around I don’t want to leave a player out of the lineup for extended periods of time.’

Plus, Purcell would have had to clear waivers if the Kings assigned him to Manchester of the American Hockey League, and someone might have claimed him.

The Kings have gone through some stretches when the power play was a force, such as a seven-for-22 stretch over five games, from Dec. 31 through Jan. 9, and they’ve gone through a few like they’ve recently endured. Adding Purcell won’t change the Kings’ strategy, Murray said.

‘We don’t change a lot on the strategy side of things because it does show to be pretty successful when everybody is doing the right thing,’ Murray said.

‘The area of concern for us, and we spent a lot of time on it yesterday and again today, was net traffic and being hungrier for those loose pucks that are there. We go back to the early part of the season and look at the success we had and a lot of those goals came off hard plays. Rebounds, or taking pucks hard to the net by yourself or it’s a tip from a point shot. It’s not that complicated. I don’t think we’re getting in the eyes of the goaltender well enough five on five and on the power play. The best we have is Zeus [Michal Handzus] and we need the younger guys and even Smitty [Ryan Smyth] to be better in that area.’

Murray also said he took out Jones because ‘I felt he just had a real tough night the other night. It’s difficult coming back off his injury. We’ve got to get him going.’

Another player who needs to get going is goaltender Jonathan Quick, whose performance in Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to San Jose was less than his best.

‘It was an average performance. Whenever I see Quick playing the way he did against San Jose, to me it’s just concentration,’ Murray said. ‘I talked to him very briefly. He doesn’t need a long conversation. Again, get your concentration back up and get back to the things you do well. When he’s right on top of it, it’s very noticeable in the difference in his reaction to shots that are coming. His quickness, alertness.’

Murray said he’d look at playing backup Erik Ersberg during the upcoming five-game trip, perhaps in one of the back-to-back games at Boston and New Jersey.

More later at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott