"You get much worse horror stories than getting on a nice plane and flying overseas," said Kings coach John Stevens, who remembered taking a 15-hour bus ride from Norfolk, Virginia, to Quebec City once in the American Hockey League, and going from Philadelphia to Cincinnati to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Milwaukee and back to Philadelphia another time.
"It can be an excuse if you want to use it. So we try to remove that from their options."
The Kings sought advice from a sleep consultant, who told them to put sleep in the bank before the trip, to stay hydrated and not to sleep too much on the plane so they could get their bodies on China's schedule as quickly as possible.
The players had first-class seats and plenty of food to eat. Most brought movies and video games. One brought homework. Zatkoff left Miami (Ohio) University 37 credits short of an accounting degree and has been taking classes so he can graduate. He is taking two while playing right now -- business law and psychology -- and had a textbook in his carry-on bag.
"I think some [teammates] know I'm probably taking classes, but they haven't seen me doing any homework," Zatkoff said. "Usually I do it at home. I'm sure if I bust out the books on the plane, they'll probably look at me like, 'What are you doing?'"
Stevens said the Kings would go for a walk as a group Monday night and sleep in Tuesday morning. He wants two good days of practice and two good games.
"There's lots we need to work on," Steven said. "We know that. Lots we need to improve on, and get other people in the lineup. We're looking for a good week of preparation outside of the fact it's going to be in China."
