Two very different practice days here in Florida, Insiders!
How does that old saying go? When in Fort Lauderdale, do as the……Fort Lauderdalaridians……Fort Lauderdalans…… Fort Lauderdalers do. Something like that. Since it rained for approximately 76 days consecutively in Los Angeles, prior to departing on this roadtrip, it makes sense to hit the beach while here in the Florida sunshine.
Yesterday afternoon, the Kings traded their sticks and skates for footballs of both varieties, taking in some beach soccer and football after the late arrival from Philadelphia the night before. While in the same timezone, Pennsylvania to Florida is a haul, with the team not getting into Florida until around 2 AM. With two days here in between games, the Kings opted to break up their practice schedule with the fun team event yesterday and a formal, on-ice practice today.
“Two days off and this trip now gets long in terms of days, we played three games in four days to start it and now we have three in seven to finish it,” Todd McLellan said. “So, for as much as we need practice time, we also have to break it up a little bit. It was a reward for the players to get out and enjoy the beach. We live on probably the best beach in the world, but to get out and kick the soccer ball around, relax a little bit, there’s still a bit of a workout element in it and then they got to enjoy the rest of the day. Today, back to work and then tomorrow we’ll certainly work.”
The players seemed to enjoy their time away from the ice.
On a long trip like this – and this is a LONG trip – it’s important to find that balance. It’s also important to make sure the players are getting what they need to be prepared to play, and in some ways, yesterday’s outing provided the opportunity to get both. Some time in the sunshine, sure, but also a structured activity that got everyone up and moving after a late arrival. Not a bad wat to take advantage of the elements a bit. However you see it, it was well received.
Anderson-Dolan – Yeah, it’s nice to enjoy the weather and it’s good to do it as a team, it’s a little bit of a different look than just coming to the rink every day. Nice little beach workout wasn’t the worst.
Byfield – I thought it was a lot of fun, just getting out there. We enjoy the beach quite a bit all year round, but it’s a little different and it was good to get out there and enjoy it with the guys.
Durzi – It was a good day. The weather here in the winter is pretty nice, couldn’t get much better than that. Warm winds, sun’s out, hanging out with the guys, it was nice to relax and get away from the rink a little bit, then we dialed it back in today, get ready to go.
Roy – It was nice. It’s always good to get something different in and enjoy the sunshine when you can. It was a good change of pace for us yesterday.
Walker – It’s funny, we obviously live in LA and a bunch of us live near the beaches, but when you’re on the road and get the chance to do it as a team, it’s a different vibe and it was fun. A nice change of pace, get a day to relax and enjoy the sun, it was good.
Sharing a few photos and a video from the day on the sand. Should have another video coming later in the day to add in as well.
Still workin' 💪 pic.twitter.com/fUUbqg2Oz4
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 27, 2023
Looking at today’s on-ice practice, the team skated around 1 PM Eastern time here in Florida, with practice going for close to an hour in total. Everyone currently on the trip was on the ice, with 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders all skating. For reference, here’s how the group lined up during today’s skate –
Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Iafallo – Danault – Arvidsson
Fiala – Lizotte – Anderson-Dolan
Kupari – Turcotte – Fagemo – Lemieux
Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Walker
Bjornfot
Copley / Quick
The Kings were happy with the results from their games in Chicago and Philadelphia, even if they weren’t perfect over the course of 60 minutes. They generated a ton of opportunities in Chicago specifically and conceded a negligible amount of high-quality looks against. It was more balanced last time out against the Flyers, but overall the Kings managed the game and found a way to get two points on the road.
Today’s practice had a lot of emphasis on pace, as the Kings got back at it today after the modified day yesterday. There’s always a focus on specific details of the game that prepare for the next opponent, in this case the Florida Panthers, but there’s also a focus on what the Kings are doing first and foremost. McLellan referenced clean breakouts as a key to tomorrow’s game and that’s something the Kings touched on today, amongst other areas of focus.
“We needed it after the day off, it wasn’t a typical road ‘let’s get our legs back and clean out everything and get going’ it was working man’s practice,” McLellan said of the skate today. “Over the last couple of games, we did a lot of things that we needed to do but we didn’t come real clean out of our zone. They forecheck with pace, so for us to have success we’re going to have to come out cleaner than we have been over the last little bit and then there’s some other aspects of the game that we talked about.”
Sharing some photos from Day 2 in Florida as well, the on-ice edition.
Morning skate coming up tomorrow, back at the big barn in Sunrise. A difficult back-to-back set is upcoming, between Florida and Tampa Bay, so an important first leg against the Panthers in just over 24 hours time. More detailed storylines to follow come the morning, as the Kings get back to business against the Panthers.
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