Good morning, Denver

Good morning, Denver, and good morning, Insiders.

After deicing and leaving the light snow in Winnipeg, we flew south for an hour and 50 minutes and descended beneath partly cloudy skies to a typically mild and fair day in Denver. It will reach the low-70’s in the Mile High City this afternoon. There’s plenty of snow west of here, but one of the better kept secrets across North America is how sunny and benign Denver often is, even in the winter and early spring.

Not much to see there. Denver Interntional Airport, located 25 miles east-northeast of the team hotel, is linked to downtown by way of Pena Boulevard and I-70, or a heavy-rail train. The train takes 37 minutes and makes multiple stops but costs only $9; a car takes essentially the same amount of time, barring traffic, but is more expensive. The tradition when visiting Denver and Edmonton is to guess how long it takes to travel from the airport to the hotel, and yesterday, Patrick O’Neal was the big winner. His guess of 38:30 was mere seconds away from the 38:08 total travel time. He wins $50 Insider Bucks.

That’s it for now, gang. The Kings are scheduled to take the ice for their morning skate at 11:30 a.m. in advance of a big, big game tonight against the Avs. News, notes, quotes and audio will follow from the Pepsi Center and points beyond. Enjoy your Thursday, and let’s talk soon.