Good morning, Nashville

Good morning, Nashville, and good morning, Insiders.

I have a bone to pick. Because of the addition of the Golden Knights, the scheduling matrix is slightly off-axis, and there is a cross-over team in the Central Division that the Kings will visit only once for the second consecutive season. That city is Nashville, home of excellent restaurants, honky-tonk, a fun game environment and the ease of being able to walk to the arena and virtually anywhere in the downtown surroundings. For shame, SCHEDULOR. For shame.

But, upon closer inspection, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing competitively for the Kings, because it replaces a road game against the 2017 Western Conference champs with a home game. And, hey, there are more worthwhile things to complain about than Las Vegas’ addition to the circuit.

For a two-day Central Division road trip with a practice day in between, it’s hard to beat Dallas-Nashville. Obviously Chicago is a great city, but it’s a bit of a hike to and from the arena, and that compacts work on game days. For both ease of work and the post-work dining options within walking distance, a four-day Dallas-Nashville jaunt grades quite well.

Sadly, we have now gone a full day since our last Munters sighting. May this trip and all that follow be sustained by Munty, our evaporative cooling deity. I wonder if Munty and SCHEDULOR are friends or sworn adversaries.

That’s probably enough inside jokes for one story. The Kings are scheduled to practice at Bridgestone Arena at 1:30 p.m. CT. Stories, quotes and ruminations will follow. Enjoy your Wednesday, Insiders. Let’s talk soon.