Hear from the Trevor’s – Lewis & Moore – after both players return to practice in full-contact jerseys

Two Trevor’s are better than one.

I think that’s how the saying goes.

As the LA Kings hit the ice for an optional practice today, forwards Trevor Lewis and Trevor Moore both took part as full participants.

For both players, it was their first day back in a full-contact capacity. Lewis has been out of action with a lower-body injury since November 30 against Ottawa, after which he was given around a 4-6 week timeline by Head Coach Jim Hiller. This is week 5 since that, which puts Lewis right on track.

Lewis had previously practiced with the full team in a non-contact capacity, with Hiller speaking to how close he was to a full-contact jersey on Tuesday. Today, though, was his first day out of the red and into a white jersey.

“It’s great just to be out there with the guys,” Lewis said. “It’s always fun to have a regular color jersey on, that was kind of nice today too. Just a step in the right direction and excited to skate with the guys again.”

For Moore, it was actually his first practice back of any kind with the full team, as he works his way back from an upper-body injury that’s kept him out of the lineup over the last eight games. Unlike Lewis, Moore did not have an immediately known timeline and he’s been evaluated on more of a day-to-day basis throughout his recovery. He progressed back onto the ice recently and is now back with his teammates.

He’s been skating for a while now, but it was in a red jersey either by himself or with Lewis and any other injured players. Felt great for him to be back with everyone.

“It was awesome,” Moore said. “The team’s been buzzing, so I’m looking forward to joining them and just keep rolling.”

For both players, it had been a lot of skating on their own. A lot.

Lewis got back on the ice when the Kings were on the East Coast. For him, it was a lot of solo work at times. Moore was first healthy and then not back on the ice, while Drew Doughty had not yet progressed to skate and Arthur Kaliyev was on his conditioning loan in Ontario.

Lewis did at least have Doughty around and the two did their off-ice workouts together while the Kings were on the East Coast, noting that the two were in the gym together every day.

“He always keeps it loose, there’s always something new with him every day, so we had a lot of fun together and did a lot of work, so that was good,” Lewis said of Doughty.

When Lewis got back on the ice, those sessions were good, conditioning wise, but you can only do so much when you’re skating on your own.

“Skating by yourself, you can get in good shape but it’s a lot different when guys are leaning on you in tight spaces in games,” Lewis said. “Luckily, I’ve had Mooresie out here with me and we’ve been working on that and stuff. Getting the legs back and feeling good.”

Moore had similar things to say.

While Lewis had Doughty, Moore was quick to first credit Lewis for helping to push him in his own recovery.

“I don’t feel like I need someone to push me, but Lewie pushes everyone that he’s around,” Moore said. “Obviously we don’t want him hurt, but when he’s hurt with you, it makes it easier to be in the gym early and be on the ice, bag [skating].”

Bag skating is one thing, and both Lewis and Moore felt comfortable in their conditioning. There are certain parts of the game, though, you just can’t replicate unless you’re in a game situation.

“I always think it’s so hard to replicate the game, the physicality just along the boards and people leaning on you all the time,” Moore said. “[We’ve worked on it] as good as you can do and I feel really good out there.”

Situationally, he took it a step further.

It’s difficult to replicate being 45 seconds into a shift and having to make a hard play along the boards, with a defenseman crashing down and grinding along the wall. It’s especially hard to do so with the repercussions that a game scenario would have, where failing to make the play could result in a goal against. Those are the smaller details it’s hard to really work on in a practice setting.

While it wasn’t a full-team practice, they got a little of that today.

The Kings held an optional practice today, with 12 skaters on the ice today. It was mostly lower-minute guys from last night’s win over New Jersey. In total, the Kings had five defensemen and six forwards out there, with Lewis and Moore among that group of seven along with Tanner Jeannot, Akil Thomas, Samuel Helenius, Arthur Kaliyev and Andre Lee.

Heavier minute players from yesterday had the day off and we’ll likely see everyone back on the ice tomorrow.

In terms of return timelines for Lewis and Moore, not exactly clear at this time. It feels like Lewis is probably closer than Moore is at this point, but Jim Hiller is set to address the media tomorrow, so we’ll see what his update it.

Lewis said he felt like he was playing pretty well before his injury and has tried to do his best to stay in that mindset even while he was injured. From a conditioning perspective, it feels like Lewis is very close. Another day tomorrow to feel contact again. If all goes well there, Lewis could potentially be an option on Saturday against Tampa Bay, but we’ll see from there. One less forward spot has been available as of late, with the Kings opting for 11/7, and a lot of players have been playing well in elevated roles so we’ll see how and where Lewis fits in. More on that front tomorrow and Saturday.

When Lewis does play, it will be game 1,000 in the NHL. Will have much more on that once we get more information on Lewis’ return.

For Moore, he expressed a ton of excitement to be back at this stage, but said it’s hard to say if he’s game-ready just yet, mostly boiling down to getting those full-contact reps. Still, once a player progresses to the full-contact jersey, he’s not far off. When Moore is ready, he’ll play.

Tomorrow should give a good sense of where both players are at. If Moore or Lewis practice on a regular line, it’s perhaps an indicator of potentially being closer. Check back in 24 hours on that one. Ontario Reign in action tomorrow evening, so Jared Shafran will have full coverage there, with a Kings story in between. Talk soon, Insiders!