January 8 morning skate notes

Good morning from Toyota Sports Center, where the Kings are preparing for – wait for it – an actual National Hockey League game. The team hasn’t played since Saturday’s 7-6 overtime loss to Nashville.

The lines utilized in today’s skate were the same as those used yesterday:
Gaborik – Kopitar – King
Pearson – Carter – Toffoli
Brown – Stoll – Williams
Clifford – Richards – Lewis

Muzzin – Doughty
Martinez – Greene
Schultz – McBain

Notes:

-Jonathan Quick left the ice first; expect him to start against the Rangers.

-Andy Andreoff, Jordan Nolan, Brayden McNabb and Robyn Regehr skated as extras, with McNabb and Regehr forming a “fourth pairing.” Regehr is on injured reserve and all four remained on the ice for some extra work with Martin Jones, so don’t expect them to play tonight. Might we have the New Year’s first “A” grade in “Level of confidence in projected lines”? Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!

-Rangers bits:

University of Alabama-Huntsville fans, rejoice:

Vigneault says no particular reason why he is starting Lundqvist tonight v Ducks & Talbot tomorrow vs Kings

— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) January 8, 2015

The Rangers didn’t hold a morning skate today, though Pat Leonard wrote about the team’s return to Staples Center as part of a New York Daily News story yesterday.

Via Leonard:

“When we play the Kings, for sure, it’s gonna bring up some memories and hopefully we can take those as motivation — some good memories and bad memories,” center Derick Brassard said after practice in Anaheim on Tuesday. “There are good memories because we were playing hockey very late last year at a time when every hockey player in the world wants to play. So we were pretty lucky to play in that situation.

“But it’s a tough situation when you think about the outcome of what happened and everything,” he added. “But I think we learned from that, and we can take it as motivation.”

Brassard, meanwhile, has 11 goals and 31 points in 35 games and scored the opening goal in last night’s 4-1 win at Anaheim. New York has won 11 of 12 and has outscored opponents 40-23 in first periods and 115-87 overall this season.

-There’s a special Kings Weekly tonight. A U-18 match-up between the Junior Kings and Junior Ducks received a full FOX Sports West treatment, with play by play and color commentary provided by Kent French and Daryl Evans, intermission and post-game interviews by Alex Curry, and appearances by Bailey, Wild Wing, Carrlyn Bathe and both teams’ ice crews. Highlights and comprehensive coverage will take up the full 30 minute show, which was a terrific perk for the young players, who were not aware that they would be receiving the special treatment when they arrived at Toyota Sports Center that day.