Updates from El Segundo as Kings return to practice

Happy Friday, Insiders!

The LA Kings returned to the ice for practice today, following four days off for the NHL’s holiday break. Following the 3-1 loss in Washington on December 22, the Kings went their separate ways for an extended break, with one extra day on the front end and the opportunity to practice on the backend coming out. A rarity for a team that has played games on December 23 and December 27 in each of the past two seasons. They were scheduled to do the same in 2021-22, but both games wound up being rescheduled for February, in the Olympic break that ultimately was not realized for the aforementioned tournament. The last time the Kings had even one of those days off, with a regular schedule, was the 2017-18 season. Both days off though? As rare a sight as you’ll see. The NHL used to schedule games on December 26 and dating back at least to the 2004-05 lockout, there wasn’t a single season in which the Kings had that type of relief.

They’ll pay for it in January, with a lot of travel and ton of games in total. But, coming off of a seven-game trip which ranked among the longest in recent memory, the time away was quite nice.

Coming out of the trip, the Kings finished at 3-2-2, earning eight points in the standings. That feels like the bar for an acceptable trip, as noted in the analysis article after the Washington game. Eight of 14 points is not an incredible trip but it’s not a poor one either. The regulation losses were both tightly contested, 3-1 defeats against the number one and number two teams in the Eastern Conference by points. The loss in New Jersey was deserved. The loss in Washington was a good performance with an unlucky turnout.

“It was a pretty good trip,” Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller said. “We would have liked points out of the [Washington game], but the trip itself was good. We played some pretty good hockey. We’ve played 21 road games now and six exhibition games on the road, so 27 on the road, we’ve spent some time on the road.”

No team in the NHL has played more games on the road as of this writing. 21 for the Kings, combined with a full slate of exhibition games away from home and the Kings have certainly had their travel over the first three-plus months of the season. They’ll get it again in January too, with a pair of five-game roadtrips that will certainly test the fortitude of the group. By February 1, the Kings will have played 31 of their 41 away games, with nothing more than a single three-game trip over the final three months of the regular season. At 9-8-4, the Kings aren’t setting any NHL records for road performance, but they’ve held their own, providing the foundation for a 10-2-1 mark at home, with a +19 goal differential, which has paved the way to 43 points in the standings and a .632 points percentage in total.

Not a bad place to be, heading into a five-game homestand that begins tomorrow afternoon against the Edmonton Oilers, in a rematch of last season’s playoff series.

“Overall, we’re proud of the effort and all-in-all, not a terrible roadtrip,” defenseman Mikey Anderson added. “Nice to feel good about the way we’ve been playing going into the break and try to carry that over [against Edmonton].”

For today, the Kings returned to the ice as a full group for their first practice day since December 16 in Pittsburgh. 11 days is a long time. The Kings opted to prioritize energy over on-ice practices at the tail-end of their trip, giving the bulk of the group off-ice workouts in Philadelphia and Nashville. Today was the first time the Kings have practiced at home since December 6. 21 days is also a long time.

In terms of alignment today, the two biggest names to watch for were Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore.

Danault missed the trip finale in Washington while Moore missed the final five games of the trip with an upper-body injury. Neither situations were ever thought to be longer term. Danault was on the ice with the group today, while Moore was joined by forward Trevor Lewis skating on their own before practice today in non-contact jerseys. Good signs of progression for both players, as the Kings slowly but surely approach a full roster. Np update provided on both players, beyond both players being back on the ice earlier today.

For today’s skate, here’s how we saw the Kings align –

Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Jeannot
Fiala – Danault – Laferriere
Lee – Helenius – Thomas

Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Spence
Englund – Burroughs

Kuemper / Rittich

With Moore and Lewis skating on their own, that just leaves defenseman Drew Doughty and forward Arthur Kaliyev to account for. The latter is concluding his conditioning loan with the AHL’s Ontario Reign and should be set to return to the NHL roster shortly. Kaliyev has one assist and one shootout goal, along with 10 shots on goal, from four games played with the Ontario Reign, who resume their post-holiday schedule tonight in San Diego. For Doughty, all signs have his recovery process going according to schedule, but he has still not progressed to an on-ice with the team capacity. The Kings are home for the next five games, spanning 14 days, so we’ll keep tabs on Doughty and see how he progresses.

To add Kailyev to the active roster, which the Kings will be required to do when he concludes his loan, a corresponding roster move would need to be made. The Kings currently have 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders, accounting for 23 skaters. Moore is included in that number and is eligible for injured reserve, retroactive to his injury, if the Kings want to go that route, buying time until he’s ready to go. They could assign forward Andre Lee without waivers or pursue another avenue. Will get an answer on that soon, with Kaliyev’s loan set to come to a close.

Quick one for today, Insiders.

Was not able to make today’s practice with my travel, so stick taps to LAKI contributors Jared Shafran and Jesse Cohen for providing updates from the ground at Toyota Sports Performance Center. I’ll be back for tomorrow’s game against the Oilers and from there on out.

Sharing a post-practice interview with Jim Hiller below, featuring many of the updates above, and more, from today’s first practice back.