February 4 practice notes

The Kings practiced at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida on Wednesday afternoon in advance of Thursday night’s game against the Florida Panthers. Before we get to the notes…

Lines! (via color coding)

White: Gaborik – Kopitar – Brown
Purple: King – Carter – Toffoli
Green: Clifford – Stoll – Williams
Yellow: Lewis – Andreoff – Shore – Nolan

Pairings!

Muzzin – Doughty
Martinez – Greene
Regehr – McBain
McNabb

Notes!

-Though the team was scheduled to practice at 1:00 p.m., no players or coaches took the ice until 1:45. The team appeared to hold a lengthy, if not atypical meeting, with video sessions covering “what we need to improve on,” according to Jake Muzzin. “They showed some good clips, they showed some bad clips. The truth is in video, and it shows. It’s very clear what we need to do to be successful.”

-There were no changes to the forward lines. There was some movement on the back end, however, with Alec Martinez switching back to the left side and slotting alongside Matt Greene, and Jamie McBain entering into a rotation alongside Robyn Regehr. Brayden McNabb was the extra defenseman in rotations.

-Once the team was on the ice, it was a fairly normal skate. A regular flow / transition drill designed to get the guys’ legs moving and get them handling pucks was followed by five-man unit drills up and down the ice. After that, players remained on the ice for individual skill instruction, with Senior Advisor / Development Coach Mike O’Connell also taking part.

–Elliotte Friedman‘s 30 Thoughts remains the best column in hockey reporting. In today’s post, there are reports on the salary cap, Martin Jones and Rob Blake. It’s a required read.

-Smile for the cameras!