The LA Kings hit the ice today for practice at Toyota Sports Performance Center, in advance of an afternoon flight to Vegas.<\/p>\n
For starters, a few updates from what we saw yesterday, plus a couple of new ones. <\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with the positive. <\/p>\n
Forward Quinton Byfield was back on the ice today after he missed yesterday\u2019s practice. Simple one there \u2013 maintenance day for Byfield. He was a full participant in today\u2019s skate, working with his regular linemates, Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin. Byfield will travel with the team today and I am expecting to see that line back together when the Kings hit the ice tomorrow against the Vegas Golden Knights. Doesn\u2019t seem like anything to be concerned with. <\/p>\n
On the other side, a number of other situations in play here, with updates below. <\/p>\n
On forward Mats Zuccarello, he is not expected to travel with the team this afternoon. Zuccarello is out on a week-to-week timeline, per Head Coach Peter Laviolette, and will miss tomorrow\u2019s game against Vegas, certainly. Beyond that, week-to-week would point towards him likely missing the games against Edmonton and Boston at home as well. If there\u2019s a week to miss, I suppose one of the only weeks of the season with only two games on the schedule. So, we\u2019ll probably be looking for an update before the team heads to Washington, DC after the game versus the Bruins. There\u2019s a five-game trip on the East Coast beginning against the Capitals that should be a good benchmark for Zuccarello. <\/p>\n
Also not on the ice this afternoon was forward Alex Turcotte. Per Peter Laviolette, Turcotte is on a day-to-day timeline. Unclear if he will travel with the team to Vegas, so we\u2019ll get a better sense come the morning on his potential availability for tomorrow\u2019s game. Turcotte was out there yesterday, so that\u2019s a new development. <\/p>\n
Lastly, during practice today, what looked to be a scary situation with defenseman Brandt Clarke saw him leave the ice for a portion of practice. I asked him what happened and in the first drill of the day, he stepped on a stick blade behind the net, which caused him to fall. During the fall, his helmet visor came down and cut his lip, which led to him leaving the ice with a towel on his face. Clarke later returned to practice, though, to stick taps from his teammates, with a little celly as he got back on the sheet. Everyone was in good spirits about it. Clarke took power-play reps with his usual unit when he came back. So, despite the initial departure, he told me he\u2019s all good. A relief on that front. <\/p>\n
So that\u2019s that. <\/p>\n
Now, as a corresponding roster move, for Zuccarello certainly but I suppose for Turcotte as well, the Kings recalled forward Jared Wright from the AHL\u2019s Ontario Reign. <\/p>\n
Corresponding move for Zuccarello \u2b07\ufe0f Wright has goals in both games he\u2019s played this season in the AHL, including the overtime game winner on opening night.<\/p>\n