Practice 1/3 – “Maintenance Day” for Doughty + McLellan On Line Changes & Clarke Talks Recall

The changes, they are a comin’.

Something like that.

A new look here this morning for the LA Kings, as they lined up for today’s practice in a similar manner to how they looked during the second half of last night’s game. In speaking with Mikey Anderson and Todd McLellan after last night’s game, both felt the Kings played a step slow throughout the night, resulting in a lot of the problems the team had against the Maple Leafs.

As a result, the Kings switched up their Top-9 for the second half of the game. Following the changes, the Kings saw improvements in their game, with McLellan noting he and the staff would assess the changes in the morning before deciding how to proceed.

The result here today was a carryover from what we saw last night, aligned as follows –

Byfield – Kopitar – Moore
Laferriere – Dubois – Kempe
Fiala – Danault – Grundstrom
Anderson-Dolan – Lizotte – Lewis
Kaliyev

Anderson – Clarke
Gavrikov – Roy
Englund – Spence

Talbot / Rittich

“It was time,” McLellan said. “The execution had fallen off between individuals, the connectivity, I think guys used that word last night after the game and reviewing and looking back, we were better in the second half of the game as far as pace goes. Again, is that the change, is that did we get their attention or was that the opposition playing the score a little bit more? Everything comes into play. We’ll see where we go tomorrow, but for today, that’s how we approached it.”

As far as the adjustments went last night, McLellan believed that the team was more effective after changes were made, but was the team more effective because of the changes?

There’s a brainbuster for you.

It’s certainly not deniable that the Kings improved after shuffling their lines around. Not improved to the point of where they wanted to be, but without a doubt improved. As McLellan has now noted multiple times, was that because of the changes made to the forward lines or was it more a result of game circumstances, the way Toronto approached things, or simply a shift towards the positive. McLellan had this to say about the response to the changes.

“The first thing you look at is how the group reacts with body language and their energy, because you’re going to get a few guys that might pout, because they’re losing their buddy that they’re really comfortable with, and then you get some other guys that may be really excited, because they’re getting a different opportunity with maybe a player they wanted to play with. I thought we had much more of the second, I thought guys got excited. It also got their attention. I think it puts, sometimes, a shock into the system, which you need. Then you look for execution and we weren’t executing early in the game for sure, it didn’t matter who we put on the ice, but got a little better later on.”

Looking beyond the forward lines, defenseman Drew Doughty did not practice today, but there’s no cause for concern, per McLellan.

“Just a maintenance day for him. He’ll be good to go tomorrow.”

The Kings had defenseman Brandt Clarke, who was recalled earlier this morning, skating in Doughty’s spot next to Mikey Anderson.

For the day, Clarke partnered Anderson as one of six blueliners on the ice. The team’s other two pairings remained in tact, with Gavrikov/Roy and Englund/Spence. In speaking with McLellan, he noted that Clarke was coming up either way, and filling into Doughty’s spot did not factor in.

“No, if Drew didn’t take a maintenance day, you would have saw Brandt for practice as well,” McLellan said. “Clarkie will be with us tomorrow against Detroit and then he’ll be on the plane to travel for that six-game roadtrip as well.”

Not on the ice today was defenseman Tobias Bjornfot, who was placed on waivers an hour or so before the Kings took the ice.

Bjornfot has found himself in a challenging position this season, as noted in the transaction article this morning. He played in Game 1, but hasn’t played an NHL game since. He was able to play in nine AHL games on a conditioning loan because he got injured midway through the first one, which restarted his clock. Otherwise, we may have found ourselves here sooner. The Kings certainly don’t want to lose Bjornfot via waivers, but he also needs to play games. McLellan is hopeful those games will be with AHL-Ontario, keeping him as an option as the Kings move forward.

“Toby needs to play,” he added. “We’ve got our fingers crossed that we don’t lose him to another organization, but he needs to play. He’s still a young player and having him practice and not get the reward of being in the competition isn’t good for him at that young age. So, we’ll try and get him to the American League and get him playing lots of games.”

On the topic of Clarke, what a day it was for he and his family.

His brother, Graeme, was formally called up from the Utica Comets this morning and is expected to make his NHL debut tonight with the New Jersey Devils. A couple hours after his morning skate, his parents got another call, this time from Brandt. He was recalled to the NHL as well.

“My brother got called last night, he was in Utica hanging with his buddies and he got called to drive to Newark to play against Washington and I was excited for him, my whole family was excited for him,” Clarke said this morning. “Then, my parents were booking their flights and I called them to say I also just got called up. Pretty cool.”

In this instance, Graeme wins the attendance of the parents. Brandt made his NHL debut last season, with his family in attendance, while this time it’s Graeme’s turn, while Brandt searches for his tenth career NHL game.

For the Kings’ Clarke, he’s certainly earned the opportunity.

Clarke’s play in the AHL has been among the best on the team and the best in the league as far as defensemen go. He’s jumped into his first full season at the professional level hea on and he’s been quite impressive in doing so. Todd McLellan complemented Clarke’s attitude and approach to not winning a spot on the opening-night roster, how he went down to Ontario, logged heavy minutes and worked on his game.

Speaking this morning, Clarke pointed to the importance of getting that competition and how he’s focused on improving his overall game in Ontario.

“I think just playing against pro competition every day, it makes you have to be reliable,” he said. “I think it all starts with clean breakouts, it starts with shutting things down easily. If I want to do what I want to do offensively, then we have to have the puck and that all starts with me being responsible, being smart in my own end. I think I’ve done a really good job of that. I’m happy with how I’ve played, I’m happy with our team’s play honestly, so that makes it easier for me as well.”

In terms of the work he’s put in at the AHL level, most of it has come on the defensive side of the puck.

Clarke was the best offensive player in Canadian major-junior hockey last season and he’s been among the best offensive players in the AHL this season. He leads all AHL defensemen in points this season and is among the league’s best among overall scorers. When he was scoring at two-points-per-game in the OHL last season, there wasn’t all that much of a focus on defending. Clarke was so much better than the league he was in. He’s handled the step up in competition well and he’s worked with the coaching and development staffs throughout the last three months on improving his entire game.

“They’ve been really hands on, trying to help me be an all-around player,” Clarke said of the staff in Ontario “Every video we do, it’s defensively, it’s kind of defending the rush and they always say to me, why would I show you anything offensively, you just kind of do what you do out there, and I appreciate that. I appreciate that I have that kind of leeway and that I have that kind of belief system in the organization, it means a lot to me. I just want to make them proud. I want to just be smart defensively and then kind of take over when I can.”

Unclear at this time if Clarke will factor into tomorrow’s lineup for the Kings. Assuming that Doughty is back, it likely comes down to the trio of Clarke, Andreas Englund and Jordan Spence for positions on the third defensive pairing.

All three are capable of playing and regardless of if it comes tomorrow or on the upcoming roadtrip, expect to see everyone worked in moving forward.

“We’ll make sure everybody gets an opportunity and try and keep everybody on their toes,” McLellan said of the situation. “By no means if we make a rotational change – I can’t say that for the future, but right now – it’s not because of performance, it will be because we’re trying to work seven guys through.”

More to come tomorrow as the Kings look to snap a three-game losing skid. A bit of insight to follow on areas of concern, plus a deeper look into the forward line changes, should they appear to continue tomorrow against Detroit.