Practice 2/10 – Moore & Vilardi Progress + “Pace” during Practice & Quick Hitters

Good Afternoon, Insiders!

Right off the hop, two big progressions from today came with regards to Trevor Moore and Gabe Vilardi. Yesterday, Moore re-joined the group in a red, non-contact jersey for his first skate back with the team, while Vilardi skated on his own before practice. Today, both players took a step forward in the process. Moore moved from a red jersey to a gray jersey, on his usual line with Phillip Danault and Viktor Arvidsson, while Vilardi took in his first practice back with the group, skating in a non-contact red jersey.

Moore’s progress saw him join forward Arthur Kaliyev in a regular jersey, after Kaliyev stepped right back into the group in that setting yesterday. Both players took regular spots in line-oriented drills and power-play settings. Regarding their availability for tomorrow, Todd McLellan shared that “it’s trending that way, we’ll see how they are in the morning.” No guarantees – there never are when it comes to injured players – but certainly a fingers crossed situation.

Regarding Vilardi’s practice participation, McLellan reinforced that he is not available to play tomorrow evening versus Pittsburgh. Nonetheless, it was good for everyone to see an excited Vilardi back with the group again, participating throughout the skate.

“Yeah, it’s been two and a half weeks, three weeks almost since he’s been able to skate with the guys, McLellan said of Vilardi. “Him being out there and being excited, that’s a good sign. Let’s get him healthy and get him back as quick as we can.”

With regards to the fourth member of the injured quartet, Carl Grundstrom, he once again skated on his own before the team took the ice, working in a setting more tailored towards his own process. Grundstrom certainly feels like the furthest off of the four players, but we knew that his timeline was a lengthier one from the start. He’s progressing and that’s what’s important, he’ll be re-integrated into the group as he’s able to be.

Looking at today’s skate, the focus of the day was pace. The Kings hit the ice again today in a more traditional alignment, with their usual jerseys for forwards and defensemen, sorted by lines. Yesterday’s skate was focused entirely on the Kings and what they needed on the first day back after an extended absence. Today, the theme was pace, supported by doing the things they needed to do at a high speed.

“Today was all about pace, as fast as we could, with execution and some management skills involved in it,” McLellan said. “We did our best to have them ready, let’s hope that the recipe that we used will allow them an opportunity to win the game.”

Looking at the second day of practice compared to the first day back, the general sentiment in the room was that day two was much better than day one. McLellan did not feel that anyone looked out of place in a negative way on the first day, but still, the group as a whole saw things come back together here on the second day back.

“A lot better, night and day,” forward Alex Iafallo said. “Day one, obviously you’re trying to your bearings straight and just trying to get used to your skates again, your hands but day two is back to normal. It’s not like it’s summer and you took a month off, it was just nine days. The boys are ready to rock.”

With a pacy day now behind them, a the Kings have done what they feel was best in order to be ready to go tomorrow evening. Here’s how the group aligned during today’s practice –

Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Fiala – Lizotte – Iafallo
Lemieux – Kupari – Anderson-Dolan – Kaliyev
Vilardi (R)

Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Walker

Copley / Quick

Decisions for tomorrow include between the pipes, with both Copley and Quick naturally well rested and ready to go. Moore and Kaliyev would need to be activated from injuerd reserve in order to play, which would simply requre the move to be executed tomorrow, with no corresponding moves required. Assuming that both Kaliyev and Moore are good to go, the Kings would then need to decide between the four players who have practiced with the fourth line over the last two days, with only three able to be dressed against the Penguins. Lastly, there’s the blueline, with the Kings currently carrying just six defensemen and several options available to be added from AHL-Ontario, should the Kings choose to add a seventh.

The Kings currently have just 20 players on their active roster and should they choose to do so, they could activate Kaliyev and Moore, and recall a defenseman without a corresponding move. Until tomorrow we wait on that front.

Quick Hitters
Catching Up
“I think it’s a big challenge. For me, the team and players, it’s all about rhythm. When you’re playing a lot, you just stay in the rhythm, the games keep coming. When you’re not playing a lot, at least you can pace yourself, but this was a big jolt to our hockey system, if you will. To have as many days off as we did, play two games, and then we have another three days off. It’s not ideal, but we’re going to try and make it as productive as we can.”

That was Todd McLellan on the challenges that what amounts to a ten-day break presents for the Kings. At the end of it, the Kings are inside 30 games remaining on the regular season schedule and their primary focus is the 29 games in front of them. Take care of their own business and what happens around them no longer matters. The ten-day break is at least in part due to the heavy workload coming in, which saw the Kings leading the NHL in terms of games played.

Over the course of these 10 days, the rest of the league – most notably the Pacific Division – has started to play catchup. The Kings are now level on games played with Vegas and sit just one ahead of Edmonton/Calgary and two ahead of Seattle, with the latter three all in action either tonight or tomorrow before the Kings take the ice against the Penguins. The Kings sit three points behind Vegas for the division lead and are now tied on points with the Oilers/Kraken and five points ahead of the Flames. Seattle has lost twice out of the break, while Calgary and Edmonton have split games. What’s that saying about games in hand? Points percentage is essentially no longer needed. Points from here on out is what’s important and the Kings will look for two more tomorrow night.

Brown Ceremony Details
For those attending, or those watching at home, details regarding tomorrow’s Dustin Brown ceremonies are available below. The ceremonies will be covered in full on Bally Sports West locally, as well as on ESPN+ and NHL Center Ice out of market. In-person attendees are *highly* recommended to be in their seats by 6:00 PM. Doors are open at 5:00 PM and the ceremony will start right around six.

Fans attending the game on Saturday are encouraged to be in their seats by 6 p.m. A special pregame Fan Fest outside Crypto.com Arena will begin at 4 p.m., and arena doors will open beginning at 5 p.m.

Following the on-ice ceremony, which will feature several Kings legends and former teammates of Brown, and before the game starts, an illustrious statue of Brown will be unveiled outside Crypto.com Arena. Fans inside Crypto.com Arena will have the opportunity to watch live the statue ceremony while sitting in their seats and viewing the center hung HD Scoreboard and video display screens.

Both events will be broadcast live on Bally Sports West and all fans in attendance will receive a replica statue giveaway. Additionally, for those out of market, both ceremonies will be covered in full on ESPN+ and NHL Center Ice.

Lastly, adding this in because it’s sweet.

Even as LEGO's, Dustin Brown's hit on Henrik Sedin is iconic 😮‍💨

📲 https://t.co/GbamEWL33Z #Brown23 pic.twitter.com/MAFLUUKGnw

— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 10, 2023

LEGO Dustin Brown. Enough said!

Tomorrow is sure to be an emotional one for many, as the Kings honor a legend. There are also a huge two points on the line as the Kings host Pittsburgh in their first game out of the break. Important to focus on both and we’ll walk that line come the game preview. One final 10 Days of Brown post coming this evening, with the focus on the most important, lasting impact of his career – the legacy. Coming soon!