Playoff Practice! Today’s alignment + “The Marker”, Kings Qualities, Quick’s Level & Mentality

Playoff Practice!

After yesterday’s off day from skating, the Kings were back on the ice this morning in El Segundo for their first of two practices here in Southern California. Lots of 5-on-5 work from the Kings today, as they prepare to take on the Edmonton Oilers on Monday evening in Alberta.

With that in mind, here’s how the Kings lined up this morning for the first practice of the postseason –

Athanasiou – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Iafallo – Lizotte – Brown
Grundstrom – Byfield – Kaliyev – Lemieux
Andersson – Vilardi – Kupari

Edler – Roy
Anderson – Durzi
Maatta – Spence
Moverare – Stecher
Bjornfot – Strand

Quick / Petersen

Today’s rushes looked similar to how they did for Game 80 of the regular season, with a couple of exceptions. The fourth line had four members on it, with Brendan Lemieux in a white jersey along with the trio of Carl Grundstrom, Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev that all played against the Ducks. Additionally, defenseman Mikey Anderson partnered with Sean Durzi, indicating he could be good to go for Game 1. Anderson came back into the lineup against Seattle on Wednesday and played both games of the back-to-back this past week. A welcomed addition who could partner well with the more offensively-minded Durzi, a pairing with a bit of familiarity together from the AHL.

Of Note – Forward Viktor Arvidsson left practice midway through, with Todd McLellan deeming it “personal” and not injury related. Arvidsson was on the ice with his usual grouping for the time he was, with Carl Grundstrom moving up towards the end. Will update if any further information is provided.

Notes –

Next Step In The Road
“I think it gives us a marker on the line of evolution. The marker moves each year and the marker on the line moved backwards the first few years, it got back to even and now it’s moving towards where we need it to take us. That’s a reflection on a plan, the resiliency of the plan, the scouting staff and the development team. Everybody and anybody that’s involved in the organization, including the players that we’ve been able to do that. That marker, I’ve seen it on teams I’ve been with and that marker is never glued in one spot. We have an opportunity right now, where we’re at, to slide that marker ahead, gain some experience. For every game we play, we will gain experience and hopefully we’re sliding it [forward] and hopefully, eventually, it can’t slide any further, which they’ve done here twice, and it gets to the top. That’s really special.”

That was Todd McLellan this morning, with a bigger picture look at the Kings and their qualification for the postseason. Probably the last day we can talk about the qualification specifically, because now they’re in and the focus is forward, not behind.

His players seemed to have the same message, when looking at the process the team has been through, the excitement around qualifying and, most importantly, the singular focus on winning games from this point out.

Kopitar – I’m excited to be back and excited for this group to be in this position and get the experience. We’re trying to win hockey games, there’s nothing else to it.

Danault – We’ve been in every situation this year. We’ve won seven in a row, we’ve lost seven in a row. We’ve bounced back after a loss, we’ve won some tight games, 2-1, it’s a big learning year for all of us, especially the young guys and it’s still a lot of learning in the playoffs. It’s going to be a nice challenge for all of us and I can’t wait to see how we react.

Quick – We added a few pieces over the summer and along the way. I think we were tested a lot with injuries over the year, injuries happen, but we had a few more than normal this year. We went through some adversity that I thought we, as a group, handled well and that speaks to our maturity as a team. We’ve got most of our guys back and we’re looking forward to Game 1.

Three veterans who have played in all four rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, three veterans who all know what it takes to get it done in the playoffs and three veterans whose performances will help to dictate how the Kings marker moves over the next two weeks, and hopefully beyond.

Playoff Intensity Coming In vs. Now
The Kings enter the postseason coming off of an extended stretch of playing regular-season games with playoff implications and a playoff intensity.

When they finally clinched in Game 80, it gave the team a pair of games without that same intensity, those same implications, but that certainly pales in comparison to some other teams. The Eastern Conference playoff race feels like it had been decided since December, with teams simply jockeying for seeding and position. The Western Conference wild-card race came down to Game 82, with the final games of the season for Dallas and Nashville deciding which team got the first wild-card position as opposed to the second.

There’s certainly a balance between wanting to clinch as early as possible, giving yourself a chance to heal bumps and bruises and get everyone prepared as individually needed heading into the playoffs, and the alternative. There’s also the other side of that coin, however, in that teams that clinched say three weeks ago haven’t had the opportunity to play games with that same level of intensity as the postseason brings for, potentially, double-digit games.

The Kings have been at that level for all but the last few days. They’ve had to win games 77, 78, 79 and 80 to lock up a playoff berth and they did that, bringing with them a playoff-like intensity most nights. The team feels it can carry that over into the postseason.

Kempe – The last couple of weeks have been tough, it was a really tough race right until the end, against some really good teams. We played some of those teams a couple times and it felt like it was a playoff game, they were trying to keep their spot, we were trying to get ahead. It was tight, but I feel like everyone in the locker room is ready for it. We’ve had a good stretch coming in and we have confidence in ourselves going into the series.

Kopitar – It’s certainly helpful. Do you want to clinch a little bit before Game 80, yes of course, but it’s not all that bad. We were engaged and we realize that if we want to do some damage, we’ve got to be on our game whether we clinched at Game 80, 75, 70 or whatnot. It’s a blank page right now and you’ve got to start writing your story right from the first puck drop.

Moore – Yeah, I think it helps a lot. We’ve been desperate for the last little while here, so that helps, but I think that it just ramps up so much in the playoffs every year. When you watch it on TV, you’re almost surprised by how intense it is, because everyone can raise it up that much more. The stakes are amplified, everything is amplified, it’ll be a good experience.

Edmonton has been locked in for longer, meaning they haven’t been at the same intensity level as of late, but also meaning they have had the chance to make sure that everyone is as fresh as possible, to each individual’s specifications, heading into Monday.

A clash of situation, to be decided on the ice.

Dialed In, Quickly
The dialed-in level of Jonathan Quick has begun.

That’s not even fair to say, because he’s clearly been dialed in for a while now. Over the course of the Kings’ five straight wins headed into Game 82, Quick was the starting netminder in each of those five games. He’s certainly been dialed in over that stretch, allowing eight goals over those five games, with the key save in the key moment.

“The game in Anaheim really pops into my mind, that was probably as vintage as we’ve seen him over the last couple of years,” Kopitar said today. “I’m really happy about that [headed into the playoffs].”

We saw it today, speaking with Quick in advance of the Edmonton series. He’s focused on Game 1, with everyone coming into the day with a record of 0-0. His focus was evident this morning, solely on the team from Los Angeles, without a much thought elsewhere.

Quick’s competitive drive is unmatched and as of late, his on-ice play has been just about unmatched as well. You could classify Quick’s season as a bounceback in some ways – a 23-13-9 record and a .910 save percentage over the course of the campaign – but as he’d be the first to tell you, statistics outside of wins aren’t important in his mind when looking at the makeup of a goaltender.

“It says a lot,” Danault said, of Quick’s focus solely on wins and losses. “That’s one of the reasons he’s still in the league, battling, heading into the playoffs. Lot of things to learn from Quickie, even if you’re not a goalie.”

Teammates old and new alike – Kopitar and Danault – recognize Quick’s game and his status. He’s a proven winner, though that obviously goes without saying. It’s the qualities that make him a winner that you can really pick up on.

Like many others, Quick was simply an opponent that stopped the puck for Danault entering this summer. In just one full season together, those qualities that make Quick a winner have made themselves evident to a player like him, however, who is entering the fold for the first time.

“I didn’t see him much, playing in the East, but you can tell he’s a winner,” Danault added. “His attitude on the ice, off the ice, he’s always working really hard and he’s always focused, ready to go for the boys. Every game he’s given us a chance this year and he’s doing it again. Quickie has been awesome for us and hopefully it can be the same in the playoffs.”

As it always is, however, Quick wasn’t focused on what’s up with his own game, it’s solely about the team.

He deflected a question about his own levels to what the team’s done over the last couple of weeks, to step up and win the games that the Kings needed to win.

“As a team, we’ve won games, that’s what we were able to do to get into the playoffs,” he said. “As a team, we were able to step up and win games that matter. That’s behind us now, it’s 0-0, and we’ll start fresh.”

We’re all 0-0, and we’ll start fresh on Monday.

That’s a wrap for today, Insiders, with a ton more to come over the course of the Kings/Oilers series. Far too many storylines from today to cram into one article, but lots more to come surrounding tomorrow’s practice day and eventually heading into Monday’s series opener in Edmonton.