Malott did not travel with the Kings on their season-ending roadtrip, remaining back in Los Angeles. He skated on his own at Toyota Sports Performance Center and rejoined the group today. He is available to play in Game 1 against Colorado on Sunday afternoon and is expected to be on the plane to Denver. For Kuzmenko, he was activated off injured reserve this afternoon and today was notable because it was the first time he has practiced with the group since he tore his meniscus last month. Kuzmenko has been on the ice for a few weeks now but had yet to progress into a full-team skate. He didn’t travel, either. He is an option for Game 1 as well, per D.J. Smith, but not sure if he will feature. Alex Turcotte is also available to play, coming of an injury of his own, and was a full participant today as well. Turcotte did travel on the regular season-ending trip and is good to go, if called upon.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Kings potentially integrate Kuzmenko into the lineup, if he’s ready. Could see it a few ways. The Kings don’t have a ton of scoring in their bottom six but Kuzmenko also hasn’t played in, what, two months? That’s a long absence and there’s no time to get up to speed. Either got it or you don’t at this time of the year. Will be interesting to see how that process goes. Wouldn’t be shocked to see him potentially integrated in this series, depending on how things go. Could be tomorrow. But not a guarantee that it will be.
As for today’s skate, the team was on the ice for around 40 minutes. Seemed to be a couple of targeted focal points related to Colorado, but ultimately it’s bigger than that. The Kings have to be at their very best to compete in this series. Their very best, consistently, for 60+ minutes a night will allow them to do just that. But they’ve got to find that level early and maintain it. They understand that.
In asking players about the matchup ahead, the Kings know that nothing is guaranteed in this series, but they’ve got confidence going into Game 1.
Adrian Kempe – Good team we’re playing, obviously one of the best in the league, good challenge for us. I think there’s less pressure on us, I think that’s a good thing. I think we’re feeling good in the group, over the last couple of months here that we’ve been playing, I think we’ve been playing solid and confidence is high. We’re looking forward to the series. Obviously, it’s going to be a tough series against a really good team but I think we’re up for the challenge. Everybody’s really excited.
Quinton Byfield – Yeah, obviously they finished first, they’re the Presidents Trophy winners and they’ve got a lot of skilled players as well, but it’s a lot about us as well. Just knowing that we can play with them and play our game and kind of just try to take their speed away early. Just do what we were doing down the stretch.
Artemi Panarin acknowledged similar things, but finished with the thought that I think the Kings are trying to embrace as a whole. They’re a good team, but the Kings’ focus has to be on the Kings. If they do that, the veteran forward believes that this team can do it. Simple as that, for the bread man.
I wrote about this yesterday and would maintain the same perspective after talking to several players and Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith today. The Kings are under no illusions about who they are playing but they aren’t flying to Colorado to make up the numbers. There are going to be stretches of play that will favor the Avalanche and a big focal point will be managing and cutting off those stretches as quickly and effectively as they can. The Kings believe they have ways that they can compete and contend in this series, they just have to go in and do those things. There is a path to being able to keep these games close and competitive and if there’s one thing that the Kings have done all season, it’s keeping these games close no matter who the opponent is. There are non-negotiables for the Kings that will have to come through. If they can do those things, they believe they will be competitive. Easy to say, very difficult to do. We’ll see what it looks like in person tomorrow afternoon.
Following today’s skate, the Kings departed for Colorado, in advance of tomorrow’s matinee start. It’s a quick turn here. The team arrived back in Los Angeles from Calgary in the very early hours of the morning on Friday, before a full-team day off. They skated today and are now back on the plane right around 36 hours later. Such is life, when you enter Game 82 with so many different scenarios.
Won’t be any excuses come the playoffs. Doesn’t matter if you make them. A loss moves you within three games of elimination. A win and you’ve stolen home-ice advantage. No time for anything other than results. Kings expect to have their best stuff tomorrow in Colorado. They’ll need it, against the Presidents Trophy winners.
