January 9 practice notes

Good afternoon from El Segundo, where the Kings wrapped up practice well over an hour ago, and those of us who remained to speak with Darryl Sutter are only now comprehending the magic that the Kings’ coach offered.

You haven’t heard anything until you’ve heard Darryl Sutter’s ideas for changing the NHL. They include…

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) January 9, 2015

1) Referees singing the national anthem. 2) Backup goalies broadcasting the game “because they’re not doing anything.”

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) January 9, 2015

Sutter also wants to eliminate the penalty box and suggested having penalized players sit on the other team’s bench.

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) January 9, 2015

Darryl said he regretfully catches himself humming the Blackhawks’ goal song, “like Manning in that commercial.”

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) January 9, 2015

Oh, I forgot. Both teams should do yoga together on the ice, instead of pregame warmups.

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) January 9, 2015

Yeah, this all happened, and a stick tap to Rich for keeping a detailed list. There was also a comment about Columbus’ cannon that Darryl shared – he’ll hear that cannon quite a bit as an All-Star Game coach – but, sadly, all these quotes took place while our recorders were turned off and were all standing around, having a good josh.

Now, onto the substance. Mike Richards skated as an extra at today’s practice.

The lines:

Gaborik – Kopitar – Brown
Pearson – Carter – Toffoli
King – Stoll – Williams
Clifford – Lewis – Andreoff
Richards – Nolan

McNabb – Doughty
Schultz – Martinez
Muzzin – Greene
Regehr – McBain

-As a writer pointed out in a post-practice scrum, Richards has always been accepting of his role. He has done so because he puts the team’s needs ahead of his own preferences. But Richards was asked how difficult it is to be be earning limited minutes, as he did last night with a season-low 9:07 of ice time.

“That’s not fun. It’s no good,” Richards replied. “I still obviously think I can play a lot more minutes, but at the same time, you play what you’re put in the position of. I’m not going to cause a scene or do anything to kind of take the focus away from everything, and [I’m] just going to come to the rink every day and play hockey.”

That Richards was an extra doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll sit out tomorrow’s game against Winnipeg; keep in mind there’s the chance that a message is being sent by the coaching staff. It’s a possibility. A better sense of the team’s lineup against the Jets will be learned during tomorrow’s morning skate.

-There was a lot of power play work, but during five-on-five play, there were adjustments to the defensive pairings. McNabb and Doughty, paired together today, actually looked good together during the final preseason game, though that was a preseason game and means very little. Jake Muzzin, as Jewels from the Crown shared in a bang-up player evaluation last summer, posts excellent possession numbers regardless of who he plays with. In fact, his raw Corsi numbers were better away from Doughty last season than they were with Doughty, partially because removing him from Doughty’s side took him away from facing the opposition’s best players. As JFTC pointed out, Muzzin’s Corsi-for percentage when skating alongside Greene – his second most frequent defensive partner, after Doughty – was a remarkably strong 60.8%. Again, here’s your reminder that lines are fluid and there’s a good chance he’ll still see shifts alongside Doughty tomorrow.

-Lots more to come on a Friday afternoon, including some offerings from Sutter, Muzzin and Richards.