March 5 morning skate notes

Hello (again) from El Segundo, where the Kings are taking part in meetings after having left the ice following their morning skate. I spoke with Jarret Stoll, Jake Muzzin and Dustin Brown earlier today about the transition from playing a struggling team in Edmonton to facing Atlantic Division-leading Montreal. Not surprisingly, the Kings are looking to refine aspects of their own game without focusing as much on who their opponent is. Stories aplenty will follow.

Lines from this morning’s skate:

Gaborik-Kopitar-Lewis
King-Carter-Toffoli
Brown-Stoll-Williams
Clifford-Shore-Andreoff-Nolan

Regehr-Doughty
Muzzin-Greene
McNabb-Sekera
McBain

Notes:

-Jonathan Quick left the ice first at the morning skate. Expect him to start in net against the Montreal Canadiens (7:30 p.m. / FOX Sports West). Andy Andreoff and Jamie McBain remained on the ice for extra work, so they’re likely out of tonight’s lineup.

-There’s no word yet on who will start in net for Montreal. Though Carey Price saw a significant amount of work in stopping 30 of 32 shots during the Canadiens’ 3-1 loss to the Ducks last night, the smart money is still on the Hart Trophy candidate getting the nod over Dustin Tokarski tonight at Staples Center. Price’s performance in Montreal’s 6-2 win over Los Angeles at the Bell Centre on December 12 – he stopped 44 of 46 shots – was the best performance by a goalie against the Kings this season.

-There was a heavy contingent of Montreal media at today’s skate. Drew Doughty, surrounded by cameras, writers and broadcasters, was told that if he played for Montreal, he’d see that type of a media presence every day. “I guess I’m happy I don’t,” he replied before adding that “Canadiens are the nicest people.”

This is pretty much why Go Pro cameras were created:

-Lots more to come from a beautiful day in #gundo.