Practice 11/15 – Updates, Updates, Updates on Turcotte, Jeannot, Kuemper, Jones, Portillo, Moverare

Good to be back on the ice!

The LA Kings returned to practice this afternoon for practice at Toyota Sports Performance Center, in advance of tomorrow evening’s matchup with the Detroit Red Wings. With the 5 PM puck drop, the Kings are unlikely to hold a morning skate, so today’s practice was a full-team skate and will likely be the last time on the ice for most players before tomorrow evening’s game.

For today, a few notables for the Kings.

On the ice were goaltender Erik Portillo, defenseman Jacob Moverare and forward Alex Turcotte.

Not on the ice were goaltender Darcy Kuemper and defenseman Caleb Jones.

More on Portillo HERE, after he was recalled from the AHL’s Ontario Reign earlier this morning. For Turcotte, it’s his first day back with the main group since suffering an upper-body injury last week in Nashville. Turcotte was not on the short, two-game trip to Calgary and Colorado, but was on the ice back here in El Segundo. Today, he elevates to the full group, which is a great sign.

Unclear if Turcotte would be able to go tomorrow against Detroit, per Jim Hiller’s update.

“He had a full practice, but in a red and always in a red means you’re not ready to play yet,” Hiller said of Turcotte. “He’ll talk to the doctors, he’s getting closer. There’s probably a chance, but probably not probable.”

For Turcotte to play tomorrow, he would need to be activated from injured reserve and a player would need to be reassigned to the AHL in order to accommodate him. Samuel Helenius and Andre Lee are the team’s only waiver-exempt forwards at this time and since no one was waived today, it would need to be one of those two players.

Additionally, while he was not out injured, forward Tanner Jeannot was with the group as well and is eligible to play on Saturday, coming off a three-game suspension. Jeannot did travel with the team and practiced in full each day, maintaining conditioning and game sharpness. Hiller feels it should be “seamless” for Jeannot to re-enter the lineup tomorrow, considering his conditioning is still strong.

Regarding Kuemper and Jones, both left Wednesday’s loss against Colorado early. Kuemper left with a lower-body injury while Jones is out with an upper-body injury. The timeline provided for both players is “day-to-day”.

All of that left us with the following alignment here this morning –

(Turcotte) – Kopitar – Kempe – Thomas
Foegele – Byfield – Laferriere
Fiala – Danault – Moore
Lee – Helenius – Lewis – Jeannot

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

Rittich / Portillo

Lot to unpack there.

Let’s start up front, where Trevor Moore was not with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, but rather back to his usual spot with Phillip Danault and Kevin Fiala. I thought that line might stay together, after scoring twice in Colorado, but with Turcotte close, he took the first reps there today. It’s just not clear at this time if he will play tomorrow, but if he does, I’d imagine it will be right back on that line.

Moore going back with Danault and Fiala gives that line a chance to get back on track after a night Hiller was not happy with in Calgary. It’s been up and down at times for those three. Their best stretch of games came last season, in what was one of Fiala’s best runs of games as a King. Fiala leads the Kings with 10 giveaways this month, per NHL.com, and while that is an interpretative stat, it’s been noticed with the eye test also. The Kings feel that his best spot is on that line, and it’s worked before. Moore is finding his groove of late and that line finding its best form gives the Kings another level to reach up front.

The fourth line is unclear. Jeannot will play and I personally think Samuel Helenius will play also. Depending on Turcotte’s status, that leaves either one or two spots available, between Trevor Lewis, Akil Thomas and Andre Lee. Will see how that one shakes out.

On the blueline, look for Jacob Moverare to be slotted right into the lineup tomorrow evening.

“He and Spenny played a lot together with the Reign, they spent a lot of time together, so it’s a chance for both of them to maybe just get in there together and be comfortable together,” Hiller said. “Makes it less of a getting to know you period, as far as where each other will be on the ice.”

Moverare is a recall, but he’s also a known commodity.

The Kings know exactly who he is as a player from the 45 games he’s played here over the last three seasons. Moverare has been the reliable rock at the AHL level, a guy who delivers consistency and stability, a guy who plays the same way on most nights. It’s a style that tries to minimize his weaknesses and emphasize his strengths. It’s a style he’s shown can be effective in the NHL as well. A guy who is always welcomed quickly into the Kings locker room, so excited to see him back.

That brings us into the net, where Erik Portillo was the second goaltender on the ice, along with David Rittich.

Rittich and Portillo were a goaltending tandem in the AHL to begin last season, before Rittich was recalled to the NHL in December. They’re very comfortable together and Portillo said he learned a lot from working alongside Rittich last season, with Rittich the established veteran and Portillo then a rookie. Portillo said his own biggest strength as a goaltender is his “compete” and said that Rittich helped him to grow in that area last season.

For Portillo, it was a special moment to get the call.

He and the Ontario Reign had just turned in perhaps their finest defensive showing of the season, in a 4-1 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday evening. The Ontario/Tucson game came on a similar timeline to the Kings/Avalanche game in Colorado, with Ontario finishing up a bit sooner. As more was learned on the status of Kuemper, it was determined the Kings would need to recall a goaltender and Ontario General Manager Rich Seeley called Portillo on his drive home, letting him know he wouldn’t be traveling with the Reign on Thursday to Colorado, where the Reign were scheduled to play two games. He would be staying in California to practice with the big club on Friday.

“I think it’s every hockey player’s dream to get that call,” he said. “Now, it’s just all about taking advantage of an opportunity here.”

More from Portillo below, in his first interview as a member of the LA Kings!

Will take a deeper dive into the Kings power play tomorrow, as the team practiced today with five forwards on the top unit. Spoke with Tanner Jeannot as well on his impending return to the lineup, as the Kings prepare for Detroit tomorrow on home ice.