The Kings are hopeful of using a rare, three-day break to their advantage heading into Game 6

Three days in between games during a playoff series? Well that’s just unheard of.

It’s the reality though.

Todd McLellan shared a story the other day of a conversation between himself, General Manager Rob Blake and captain Anze Kopitar. None of the three could remember ever having a three-day break within a playoff series throughout the course of their careers……and that is an EXPERIENCED group.

Kopitar has played in 91 career playoff games throughout his career with the Kings, while Blake skated in 146 throughout his playing career, on top of an additional 16 now as general manager. McLellan has been behind the bench for 133 games in his postseason career, including 87 as a head coach between San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles. That’s a pretty veteran trio……so, if they’ve never seen this before, it’s certainly something unique.

What it has presented is an opportunity for the Kings to reset both mentally and physically.

“It’s taxing – it’s mentally and physically taxing, on large groups of players and staff, during the playoffs,” McLellan said. “Part of that experience is knowing how to handle it and deal with it. So, when you do get your time, you have to take advantage of it.”

On paper, it’s hard to see any way this schedule would benefit the Oilers more than the Kings. The Kings are the team that’s dropped its last two games and the Kings are the team that’s conceded 11 goals over the last five periods of play. The Kings are also the team that’s worked players back into the lineup without a practice day and the Kings are the team with their backs against the wall tomorrow, trailing 3-2 in the series.

There’s no specific guarantee that the break results in a win tomorrow. We all know that. But, it was a different experience for the Kings and one they hope is a positive one.

“There was something different the other day when we got on the bus and the plane,” McLellan said. “Some of you in here were on that plane and we flew home, that doesn’t happen very often in the playoffs because of time change and overtime. We got home late, but we woke up in our own beds to have a day to recover. As the team that traveled, I think that’s important for us. We were able to take a complete off day, we didn’t have meetings, we didn’t meet with players, they could just rest their minds. With that being said both teams got to do that, so it’s refreshing for everyone.”

There’s obviously two sides to that quote – mental and physical.

The Kings are breaking down this……break into those two parts. Wednesday was the day for mental reset. The players were completely off on Wednesday, with no practice, no meetings, no instruction. It was a late arrival back in California, around 2:30 AM Pacific time, but an arrival that allowed for a true day off, without worrying about any sort of schedule.

Then came the physical part, which visualized itself through practices yesterday and today. The Kings made the most of their time on the ice, or at least attempted to. On day one of practice, McLellan noted that he and the staff sensed a “spring in the step” of the players. The group pushed to get on the ice early and McLellan was happy with how the first practice day went.

“It’s something that we were talking about after, there was a spring in the step, there’s no better way of putting it,” McLellan said. “It was a good, crisp practice, they got here and they wanted to get out early, that doesn’t happen very often. We put a good day’s work in.”

The second day went similarly, as the Kings changed the focus to pace. Today’s practice had a lot less battle and a lot more flow than yesterday’s did. It was all a part of the three-day process, set up to get the team ready for Game 6.

“We set it up so that we got some rest, that we worked on a few things and had a little bit of a grind yesterday, and today we had some pace,” he added.

Heading into this break, the one unknown was with regards to tomorrow’s start time for Game 6. Other results around the league last night meant that the Kings will start at 7 PM as opposed to a potential afternoon game, which was also on the table had certain games gone differently. Were it an afternoon game, the Kings wouldn’t have a morning skate, though those sessions have been optional all season long.

The formalization of the start time last night put everything clearly into focus. With now two good practices under their belts, the Kings have appreciated the time, at a taxing point in the season.

Phillip Danault – No [I’ve never experienced that], but it could be useful and hopefully we can use that to our advantage, get some rest for guys. I felt a good vibe here today, that’s for sure, so hopefully we can carry that into tomorrow.

Alex Iafallo – It’s been good to have a good, couple practices to regroup and go over some things. It’s definitely weird to have a break like this in the playoffs, you wake up and you’re ready to go, but I think it’s good to regroup and go are some mistakes and things we need to work on.

Blake Lizotte – It’s super unique. I don’t think this has happened in a while, especially for the Kings. I think it’s great to have, at this point in the series, when guys that are getting a little tired and banged up for both teams. I think this three-day break is huge to kind of reset, especially for us, after the last game and needing this next one. I think it’s great for us to reset mentally and re-focus.

Now, it’s about the application.

The Kings have to win two games in total, though they can obviously only win one at a time. Full focus has shifted to Game 6, which has to be the only thought process right now from a hockey standpoint. The group has worked on some finer details in their game and will hope to apply them moving into tomorrow’s game.

Vladislav Gavrikov – We’re practicing the little details, which should help us. We have to win each game that’s coming, but we’re taking it day by day. Don’t think about the future, just live until the next game and try to win that one, that’s it.

Adrian Kempe – A couple of days of rest, which is obviously important for a lot of guys and we’ve got to win a game at home and hopefully come back [to Edmonton] for Game 7. We’ve just got to think about the next game and move forward.

To close, McLellan believes that the Kings have all of the tools to be ready to go when the puck drops tomorrow night.

The preparation was good, the rest and recovery was good and team feels good about where it’s at. None of that matters, though, if everyone doesn’t go out and play the way they know they’re able to. Without that in place, it’s all for naught.

“We are where we need to be, as far as prepping and being ready to go, we just have to go and perform.”

The Kings believe they have a blueprint for how they want to play, and we’ll cover that more in tomorrow’s game preview. The work has been put in and the time has been utilized. Just like it was with experience, now it’s all about making it count.