The Kings’ practice between Monday night’s loss to Nashville and Tuesday’s meeting with the New York Islanders offered a few clues, even if the blue line remained a little murky.
Up front, the group skated in a set of combinations that could carry over into tomorrow’s game: Panarin with Laferriere and Kempe, Fiala with Byfield, Zuccarello and Laughton, Moore with Turcotte and Perry, and Lee with Helenius, Haula and Armia. Scott Laughton and Joel Armia were the two skaters outside the regular rotation on the first wave, while Kenny Connors was also on the ice as part of the 15-man group but did not take part in line drills.
That setup makes Fiala’s status the obvious thing to watch. The forward group also featured a power-play look with Panarin, Kempe, Fiala, Byfield and Laferriere on the first unit, while the second unit appeared to have Clarke at the top with Zuccarello, Perry, Turcotte and Haula. That alignment suggests Turcotte may be back in the mix as well.
Peter Laviolette also had a positive read on Zuccarello after last night’s game, saying he felt the veteran played “best he’s seen him play being here.” Zuccarello backed that up with a candid assessment of where he’s been physically and where he feels he is now.
“My body wasn’t playing on the same team as me in the beginning, I wasn’t contributing to the team,” Zuccarello said. “It’s better to feel healthy and 100 percent, so you can actually try and help.
Hockey’s like that, sometimes you get injuries and you’ve got to deal with them, but the last game was a really good step. I felt good.
I felt more normal than I have been all year. I felt like I could actually skate and do what I want to do, so that was good.”
He was just as direct about the frustration of not being able to meet expectations early in the season.
“You have standards for yourself and when you feel like you get hindered playing it’s really frustrating to feel like you can’t contribute to the team, that’s tough,” he added. “Especially when you’re new on a team and you come in and you want to make a good impression and help out, so that was frustrating.
It’s been a shaky start with some injuries, but that’s a part of the game. Hopefully, right now, we can move forward and get back to playing the game and have fun again.”
Laviolette’s praise and the way Zuccarello looked in the third period last night point in the same direction. When he was mixed in with the team’s top offensive players, he started to make things happen, played with more physical engagement and looked more like the player the Kings brought in. The key now is seeing him in the right role, especially if Fiala is available.
The defense was harder to read because only five blueliners were on the ice. Erik Gustafsson was absent and remains day-to-day, having not skated with the team since Saturday against Pittsburgh.
Drew Doughty also sat out, though his absence appears tied to the blocked shot he took late in last night’s game. Midway through the third period, on the penalty kill, Doughty blocked a shot from Steven Stamkos with his right foot, returned for one shift, and then was done for the night.
Laviolette described Doughty’s absence from practice as a maintenance day “right now” to “let things settle down,” and said they’ll see how things progress.
The blueline situation leaves some questions for tomorrow. If Doughty is back and Gustafsson is not, the Kings may need to rethink the pairings, especially after Dumoulin and Ceci were on the ice for both 5-on-5 goals against last night.
If both are available, the combinations sort themselves out more easily. If Gustafsson remains out, the Kings lose the left-shot puck mover they’ve had on the roster, and that showed up in the team’s connectivity yesterday.
For now, it’s a wait-and-see night before the Islanders. The Kings have a few moving parts, and tomorrow should tell us a lot about how Laviolette wants to line them up.
In Other News...
Kings Suddenly Have A Bigger Problem Than Kevin Fiala's Return
The Kings have spent the last stretch looking like a team trying to find its footing one game at a time, alternating wins and losses over their past 10 and never quite stringing together the kind of consistent push that usually defines a contender. The frustrating part is not just the record, but the way recent games have unfolded, with urgency showing up only after the club has already fallen behind and put itself in a hole.
Kevin Fialas expected return should help, and there is no question his presence could give Los Angeles a needed spark in the lineup and in the attack. Still, the bigger issue is not simply getting one key forward back, but whether the Kings can stop waiting for a deficit to wake them up and start playing with the kind of pace and conviction that makes any reinforcements matter. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Could Catch Islanders At A Much Tougher Time
The Islanders are still searching for their first win in a four-game stretch, but they have at least managed to bank points in each of their last two outings. More importantly for a Los Angeles team that is about to see them again, New York is getting healthier at a time when every point in the standings feels magnified, and the roster picture has started to shift in a more encouraging direction.
During a recent practice, Mathew Barzal, Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock all took part fully, a sign they are moving closer to returning from injury. Head coach Peter DeBoer said the team will proceed carefully with those players, and more lineup changes are expected before the matchup with the Kings, leaving one last layer of uncertainty before puck drop. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Already Facing Frustrating Questions After Another Flat Start
The Kings came out of Nashville with another reminder that slow starts are becoming a problem they cannot afford to ignore. In a 3-0 loss to the Predators, Los Angeles was blanked for the second straight defeat by two goals, and the offense never found enough rhythm early to put real pressure on the game.
Filip Forsberg did the damage for Nashville, scoring twice with Nilis Hoglander setting up both goals, while the Kings spent much of the night chasing the puck and the scoreboard. They pushed harder in the third period, but by then the margin was already gone, and the unanswered questions about their early-game energy only grew louder. [Read more 🡒]