With one point from three games, the Kings are using a long week of practice to find answers, and Thursday’s skate produced the most interesting Kings practice lines of the young season. Erik Haula, Alex Laferriere and Trevor Moore skated together, a new look, while forwards Quinton Byfield and Mats Zuccarello were not on the ice. The Kings play at the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, October 10, at 7 p.m. PT. As of Thursday night, neither player’s absence had been explained.
This report follows our Vegas preview and the 2-1 loss to Florida.
The Kings Practice Lines From Thursday
The Kings skated for more than an hour at Toyota Sports Performance Center. LA Kings Insider’s Zach Dooley described it as the hardest practice of the week, with goal line to goal line sprints and high-intensity drills. His alignment came with a caution that there was a lot of rotation, especially among the fourth-line forwards, and that it is an approximation:
- Forwards: Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe; Moore, Haula and Laferriere; Alex Turcotte, Scott Laughton and Joel Armia; Andre Lee, Samuel Helenius and Corey Perry.
- Defense: Brian Dumoulin and Drew Doughty; Joel Edmundson and Brandt Clarke; Mikey Anderson and Cody Ceci; Erik Gustafsson as the seventh.
- Goalies: Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg.
Eleven forwards and seven defensemen is the same 11/7 structure the Kings have used since San Jose. With Zuccarello off the ice, Laferriere moved onto a line with Haula and Moore.
Where Are Quinton Byfield and Mats Zuccarello?
We do not know yet. Dooley wrote that he had no update on either player and would ask Peter Laviolette on Friday, before the team flies to Vegas. Neither appears on the injury list we checked, which does include Kevin Fiala, but that is an aggregator’s list, not an official team report.
Zuccarello took a “maintenance day” on Monday. Laviolette said then: “It was just a maintenance day for him today. I don’t expect anything, sometimes players just need a minute.” Zuccarello played in the loss to Florida. Byfield has one goal and one assist in three games. He skated with Panarin and Kempe against Florida and in San Jose, where the line controlled 20 of 24 shot attempts at 5-on-5, according to LAKings.com’s Zach Dooley. His absence from Thursday’s skate is the story to watch Friday.
Erik Haula and Alex Laferriere
The pairing is not a surprise. Haula’s most frequent linemate against Florida was Laferriere, and they connected on the Kings’ only goal. Laferriere has three points through three games and Haula has three as well.
“I think he’s a great player, I got a few shifts last game with him and he’s got great speed and he has great touch around the net,” Haula said of Laferriere. “Now we’ve practiced together, so we’ll keep building. Hopefully it works.” Dooley noted that Moore and Laferriere were effective together last season when Byfield was the center. Haula in that role is a different look, but the chemistry should carry over.
Brandt Clarke’s Response
Clarke’s neutral-zone turnover led directly to Florida’s winning goal, and he did not like his game. He took the ice on Wednesday’s optional day to work individually with Assistant Coach Chris Hajt. “I wasn’t too thrilled with the way I played overall, so I was like, let me get out there and just do what I want to do, touch pucks, and feel good,” Clarke said. “A good opportunity to just work on stuff I want to work on, it was productive day.”
Clarke skated alongside Edmundson on Thursday. Laviolette said after the Florida game that the Kings turned the puck over too much in their own end and the neutral zone, and getting Clarke’s puck play back on track is part of the fix.
Joel Edmundson: Fighting Helps
Joel Edmundson dropped the gloves with Garnet Hathaway against Florida, and Dooley said he was one of the most noticeable Kings after that, the only defenseman even or better in shot attempts. Edmundson agreed that the fight helped. “I feel like I’ve kind of always had that feeling after a fight,” he said. “The game kind of slows down for you, the ice feels bigger, you’ve got more room.” Asked whether to do it more often: “Maybe I should do that more often.”
Phil Housley on Three Days of Practice
Associate Coach Phil Housley spoke in a general media scrum for the first time this season. “I thought the Florida game was physical, 1-1, going into the third period and it was tight, they don’t give you a lot of space,” he said. He explained the schedule: “Three days of practice is going to be pretty tough on the guys and you’re not only thinking now, you’re thinking February just to keep the guys fresh.” Wednesday was a recovery day, and Thursday and Friday are the hard practices.
Goalies: Forsberg Is Projected
The Kings have not announced a starter. Kuemper started in Colorado and against Florida, and Forsberg started in San Jose, so the pattern points to Forsberg as the projected starter. Puckfeed’s model also lists him with seven of the last ten starts. That is a projection, not a confirmation. For Vegas, Puckfeed projects Carter Hart. Adin Hill started Thursday’s 4-3 shootout win over Toronto, stopping 21 of 24 shots.
The Golden Knights
Vegas trailed Toronto 3-0 early Thursday, cut it to 3-1 late in the first on a Mark Stone goal, tied it early in the second on goals by Brett Howden and Jack Eichel, outshot Toronto 43-24 and won in the shootout when Trevor Connelly scored. The Golden Knights are 4-1-0 with eight points, first in the Pacific. Eichel has three goals and nine assists in five games. The Kings are 0-2-1.
Watch: Peter Laviolette on Infanity TV
Laviolette on the loss to Florida:
The Kings’ official channel has Thursday’s practice interviews with Haula, Edmundson and Housley.
Schedule
- Saturday, Oct. 10: at Vegas, T-Mobile Arena, 7 p.m. PT
- Tuesday, Oct. 13: vs. Edmonton, Crypto.com Arena, 7:30 p.m. PT
- Saturday, Oct. 17: vs. Boston, Crypto.com Arena, 6 p.m. PT
Fiala remains out and is targeting about November 1. The Kings’ priority Saturday is cleaner puck play, which they spent this week working on.
Want the pressers and practice reports first? Subscribe to Infanity TV on YouTube.
