Practice 10/27 – Line Combinations + Alex Edler and Kale Clague interviews

Good Evening, California!

A short practice report from earlier today, following the biggest news of the day, injury updates provided by Rob Blake earlier this afternoon. Blake provided detailed updates regarding the status of Drew Doughty and Sean Walker, with those notes and quotes available HERE.

Related to the players who will factor in against Winnipeg tomorrow evening, the Kings were back on the ice this morning for their first practice back at home, following their four-game road trip. Much has changed in the window between the last time the Kings skated at Toyota Sports Performance Center and today.

First things first, the transactions from this morning included defensemen Austin Strand and Kale Clague, as well as forwards Arthur Kaliyev and Rasmus Kupari, recalled from the AHL’s Ontario Reign. All four players were on the ice with the Kings today.

Also on the ice today were forwards Brendan Lemieux, Lias Andersson and Andreas Athanasiou. Lemieux was added back to the active roster yesterday, activated off of the non-roster / COVID-19 list, while Andersson returned to the full group today, as he continues to work his way back from a groin injury. Athanasiou has been out with an upper-body injury since early in training camp, and his presence today is a good sight to see.

Athanasiou was in a non-contact, red jersey, while Andersson was in a full-contact jersey, skating on the de-factor fifth line.

“They’re at a level in their rehab and their progression to be able to join the team,” Blake said, earlier today. “Lias participated in full in practice, where Athanasiou was a more controlled [participant] in that aspect, staying away from contact. The other person would be Brendan Lemieux, who is officially out of COVID protocols. We’ll get a couple of good practices before they get into a game situation, but it was nice to be able to include them in practice here today.”

Overall, by my count, that’s 16 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders. How did that translate regarding lines and pairings? Here’s how the team aligned today, with some consistency, some returns to lines from past games and some new combinations.

Arvidsson – Kopitar – Brown
Iafallo – Danault – Kempe
Moore – Lizotte – Kaliyev
Grundstrom – Kupari – Vilardi
Tkachev – Andersson – Lemieux
Athanasiou (red)

Bjornfot – Anderson
Maatta – Roy
Edler – Strand
Clague

Petersen / Quick

The combinations see the line of Phillip Danault between Alex Iafallo and Adrian Kempe reunited, after a game apart on Monday against St. Louis. The bottom-six lines are new, and with three forwards beginning to re-integrate into the group, we’ll have to see how things shake out with those players, who are all on the veteran side.

Is Andersson ready for tomorrow, or does Lemieux check back in? Both are now options, skating again, though Andersson has yet to be activated back to the NHL roster. Lemieux is eligible to check in at any point.

During today’s practice, the Kings seemed to have a focus on moving pucks quickly, especially from the defensemen up to the forwards. The Kings applied pressure from the forwards to the defensemen, forcing quick decisions and outlet passes to transition up the ice.

Hear from Alex Edler and Kale Clague following today’s practice.

Alex Edler

Kale Clague

We’ll hear from Todd McLellan tomorrow morning, in advance of tomorrow evening’s game against the Jets. By that skate, we hope to have some additional clarity regarding what we might see tomorrow evening, as the Kings look to get back on track with a five-game homestand.

Until then, Insiders!