An air of familiarity on the day before the big game

There really wasn’t much to divulge about the Kings’ on-ice work at the Scotiabank Saddledome earlier today. Matt Greene took the ice first shortly before 2:00 p.m. and was eventually joined by the rest of his teammates for a loose practice that wasn’t systems-oriented as much as it was used to break a sweat. After a center ice stretch, some players retreated to the dressing room while others remained on for extra work.

“Yeah, get a sweat, get your legs going, get ready for tomorrow,” Greene said.

An air of normalcy pervaded the practice and the post-practice media scrums on Wednesday. Darryl Sutter barked commands. His diction was neither commanding nor genial. There were smiles in the dressing room. Apart from the questions that the players faced, there was nothing to differentiate this Wednesday from a Wednesday in December.

“Obviously we’re just looking to get ready for tomorrow’s game, and we’re going to take it one shift at a time and do what we always do,” Kyle Clifford said.

On the eve of the game that carries a major influence as to whether Los Angeles will earn the right to play on or play golf, there were no clenched sticks, no palpable silences, no outward signs that would give an impression that the team was uncomfortable or mired in despair.

The Kings have been there before. Whether on the ice or in the room, nothing needs to be said to remind the players of their uphill but navigable climb.

“No, it really doesn’t,” Justin Williams said. “You don’t need anyone telling you how important this game is, just like the last month of the season. You don’t need anyone telling you how big this is or how motivated you should be. Everyone in that room knows and cares and knows the importance of every play out there, so game on.”

There was a thought last spring that the thought of losing and disappointing was a bigger motivating factor than the elation spurred on by winning. It was articulated during the Sharks series when Jonathan Quick noted that the roster was comprised of “a lot of guys that just hate to lose.”

With the highs experienced through capturing another Stanley Cup, is that still the case? Are the Kings still motivated by any profound threat of disappointment?

“I don’t really have a fear of failure, I have a fear of not achieving my goals,” Williams said. “We need to put it all together tomorrow, and we’ve done it before, and yes, we need a little bit of help now. The pressure’s on us now, but if we win our next game, we put the pressure back on them. Can’t give up.”

Like today’s practice, don’t expect any flowery speeches or emotional pleas beyond tactical reinforcements and the usual encouraging hockey chatter. The stakes of Thursday’s game are clear.

“We all know we have to win tomorrow,” Brown said. “Everyone’s been talking about ‘do-or-die games,’ and this is actually finally the first one. It’s about getting ready today and tomorrow, and putting our best game forward. This group, we’ve accomplished a lot over the last few years and a big reason why is we’ve found ways to win big games. We’re going to have to find a way to win another one.”