10-15 Preview - Potential Lineup + Fialas Return, Minnesota Natives, Seeking Identity - LA Kings Insider
# 10-15 Preview - Potential Lineup + Fialas Return, Minnesota Natives, Seeking Identity - LA Kings Insider
# Contributors
# Players
# Staff
# Summary
The Kings are on the road for the first time this season, as they begin a five-game trip this evening versus the Minnesota Wild.
# Notes and Quotes
It’s interesting how quick bumps and bruises occur. You don’t quite see them during exhibition season, you do a little bit, but when the real season starts, that’s another thing we’re starting to figure out, it’s hard and it’s good for us to have a few of those right now. – Todd McLellan
It’s a little weird, but in a good way. I’m happy to be back and excited for the game tonight, to play against my old teammates, see them again and to be back in the old arena, with the fans. I really enjoyed my time here, it’s exciting to be back. – Kevin Fiala
I don’t think we’ve played great in these two games, we played better in the preseason, I think, but that’s how it goes, it’s up and down. The chemistry will come, we’re three good players and I can see our line being very effective. I think tonight will be a good night. – Kevin Fiala
For Kevin coming back, this is the first time and it happens real early in the season. For as much as we’d like to make it about Kevin and play really well, we’re not in that luxurious position right now of everything going the way we want it to, so we’ll focus on the team. There are different ways you can acknowledge his return in the locker room, whether it’s the starting lineup or something like that, but it is more about the Kings than it is Kevin tonight. I wish it was the other way, but it just isn’t. – Todd McLellan
In the first COVID year, like 40 people were able to come to the game and someone on the Minnesota side got my mom and dad tickets, but other than that, this will be the first one. It’s fun to be back, everything I do is around this part of town, so it’s fun to be back and see everything, see mom, dad and everyone. – Mikey Anderson
It’ll be fun, I’ve been to enough games growing up here where it’ finally fun to have family, friends and everyone in the crowd but at the same time, it’s a big, important game for us, especially with how we’ve started, so we’re trying to get back on track. – Mikey Anderson
We’ve got to decide who we want to be and how we want to play. When you have some success, or a margin of success the year prior, coming back is a hard thing. You tend to wander away from what your identity is, especially when you’ve added talent, and you forget how hard it was. Right now we’re in that funk, where we’ve got to figure out who we want to be and how we’re going to do it. Tonight’s opponent will be a real good challenge for us, because if we keep choosing the route we’re choosing, I don’t think we’re going to have success for a little while, but eventually we’ll get there. – Todd McLellan