10-24 Practice - Kings address areas of focus + McLellan on Lines, Lizotte on Identity, Robitaille Joins ATKM - LA Kings Insider
# 10-24 Practice - Kings address areas of focus + McLellan on Lines, Lizotte on Identity, Robitaille Joins ATKM - LA Kings Insider
# Contributors
# Summary
The Kings hit the ice this morning for their first on-ice practice as a group since Friday, October 14. The team had two main focal points, per Todd McLellan, as they hit the ice today on the heels of a five-game road trip.
# Players
- Sean Durzi
- Quinton Byfield
- Viktor Arvidsson
- Kevin Fiala
- Anze Kopitar
- Adrian Kempe
- Alex Iafallo
- Blake Lizotte
# Staff
# Notes and Quotes
# Todd McLellan
We needed it, we need more of it and being at home will help. We picked two areas of the game that we have to clean up and tried to just concentrate on that. There are other areas, but we picked those two areas and I thought we had their attention, the guys gave each other a good effort in practice today. We paid attention to the details of certain situations and practiced well in those situations, so hopefully we improve.
What I’ve heard, just from the coaches room, is ‘it’s not a bad trip’ and I don’t think we ever want to hear that, it’s not a bad trip, we should be in a position right now where it should be a good trip. [Then you hear], not from the coaches room, ‘well, if you could have held on to that last game, it would have been 4-1 and an outstanding trip.’ Statistically speaking for points, that would be great, but you can look at it the other way. We gave up six and won a game, we missed an empty net and had to go to overtime and win in the shootout, we came back from 3-1. For me, that trip was a wide-open slate and it could have went either way. If we would have come back 1-4 instead of 3-2, I don’t think there’s a big swing in that, it could have been 4-1 as well. What I’m trying to say is it was an inconsistent trip from period to period, shot to shot, goal to goal and that’s something we have to clean up.
I’m comfortable with two right now, I was comfortable with three. I thought that Quinton Byfield’s line at the beginning of the year was one of our better lines, there was no concern. They could still be that, Al’s a different player, right now we’ve got Arthur there, it’s a little bit different. I think Lizzo’s line has an identity, they know who they are and they play that way. Phil’s line, in my opinion, is starting to click a little bit more, finally getting Arvy back. The other two lines are in flux, trying to figure things out, but they have the capability of being really effective.
[Alex Iafallo]’s the Swiss-Army knife, he understands how the game is going to be played on any given night. What I mean by that is he can play a fast game, a physical game, a thinking game and he plays on both sides of the puck quite well. Often with those guys, you’ll hear that you’ve got to really watch them close to appreciate them, but we’ve talked ad nauseam about this. You often don’t miss them until you miss and we miss him.
# Blake Lizotte
Yeah, I think it’s kind of been building for us over the last four games, I think we’ve found our our energy and found our role. I think our chances for versus chances against is at a great spot right now and unfortunately for us, it’s not bouncing in our favor at the moment. I think we’re finding ways to contribute to the team, whether it’s bringing energy or an o-zone shift or positivity on the bench, I think we’re finding a way to impact the team positively even when we don’t necessarily get on the scoresheet.