Final practice day of the trip, Insiders.

The Kings hit the ice at Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario for around 30 minutes today, in advance of tomorrow’s matchup with the Ottawa Senators. They bring with them a perfect 3-0-0 record on this trip thus far, which has bolstered an 8-1-2 road record this season, as the Kings lead the NHL with 18 points away from home.

The focus from today’s skate was pretty simple.

The Kings arrived late last night from Toronto, getting into the hotel close to 2 AM. The majority of the skate looked more like getting the legs going, puck touches, flow drills. At this point in the trip, that was important. There was also a competitive element, pitting forwards and defensemen in 2-on-1 situations, designed to add a bit of that competition into the mix. Wasn’t just a flush the legs day, there was some intent behind it and a couple of things worked on to hopefully set the stage for tomorrow against the Senators.

Here’s how the Kings aligned during today’s practice –

Armia – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Malott – Turcotte – Perry
Kuzmenko – Helenius

Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Moverare

Forsberg

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper did not practice today, in what Jim Hiller confirmed was just a maintenance day. Kuemper has started and played well in all three games on the trip thus far and he’s in a run with seven or eight played in total. No injury concerns, just a deserved day off the ice for 35. Anton Forsberg was the lone NHL goaltender on the ice, along with a local EBUG on the Ottawa side.

Forward Andrei Kuzmenko was the extra forward in gray, while Samuel Helenius was the extra forward in white. In time, Kuzmenko will get another opportunity. For now, Jim Hiller and the staff are looking at it as a reset opportunity for him. He might not play tomorrow, but he’ll get back in, hopefully with a fresh slate. Here’s what Hiller had to say today about Kuzmenko –

“Kuzy was such an important addition for our team last year and brought us so much, both 5-on-5 and on the power play and this year it probably hasn’t gone as well with him as he had hoped or we had expected,” Hiller said. “It’s not a lack of effort and it’s not like he hasn’t played well, but you take Malott out and we figured we lost a little there, so if we want to put Malott back in, then who’s got to come out? We have a lot of veteran guys now, so that makes it a difficult choice. He’ll be back in. I can’t tell you exactly when, but I expect him to be a big part of our team before it’s over.”

Hiller was asked about the conversations he’s had with Kuzmenko and chose to keep the details of those conversations private. As you’d hope he would. About a specific on-ice conversation they had at yesterday’s morning skate in Toronto, Hiller did share that he really values that Kuzmenko’s “heart is in the right place”. He called him a team guy and that as a coach, Hiller is always open to having those conversations for the player to “explain where his position is”, which is something that I believe players respect about Hiller.

Personally, I’d have been surprised if the Kings did make a change today.

The fourth line was outstanding in Toronto, one of their best games of the season. In 7:37 together at 5-on-5, the Malott/Turcotte/Perry line had 16 shot attempts for, compared to just two against. 7-0 in scoring chances, 5-0 in high-danger chances. With two minutes left in regulation, 3-3 game, there was that line on the ice, in search of the game winner. While I do want to see Kuzmenko get back in, I’d be really hard pressed to split that line up right now after that performance in Toronto. Jeff Malott came back in and played a really effective game, with Hiller adding that that line with Malott has been when it’s played at its best. So, he’s earned the chance to go again.

On the skaters who were in the regular rushes, it’s nice to see Foegele back in that group.

“The last game was his best by far, and it wasn’t just the goal,” Hiller said of Foegele. “I think he was a little more physically engaged. Warren’s got to move his feet, one, and he’s got to use his body, he’s got a big body and we had some good clips of him, in on the forecheck, finishing some checks, pressuring their defensemen and making it a little bit harder for them to break out. He hadn’t been doing that, so it’s nice to see him back on his game again.”

Foegele was such a good story for last season’s Kings team, as he led the group in 5-on-5 goals./ From a production standpoint, he got off to a slower start, with just one goal from 10 games before missing five with an upper-body injury. Since he’s come back, he’s been quite good.

Foegele scored the empty netter in Montreal, to seal that game and perhaps get things going for himself. He followed that up with the first Kings goal against Toronto last night. As he’s played more and more, he’s started to look more like himself again, with last night’s game in Toronto a pretty vintage game for himself and for his line.

“I think I’m trying to get better each day and I’ve felt like each game, I’ve kind of taken that step and I felt like last game was probably the best game out of the three for me,” Foegele said. “It’s never fun sitting out, but the good thing is, you get your legs working really hard when you’re not playing in those games, so my legs have felt pretty good. Just try to keep trending in the right direction.”

The Markham, Ontario native was on the ice for 15 shot attempts for, compared to just five against. Shots on goal were 6-1, including his goal off the rush, and the Kings didn’t allow a high-danger chance with him on the ice. Something that tends to happen when you spend most of the night in the offensive zone, despite being on for more defensive-zone faceoffs than any other line.

It’s an important line for the Kings, depth wise, and seeing them back at or towards that level has been nice.

“I thought yesterday was a good game for us,” Foegele said of his line. “Even in Montreal, in that third period, I thought we were tenacious and hard on pucks. I think the more we do that, the more we stick to our identity as a line. We know we’re at our best when we’re playing fast and not passive, so for us as a line, we’ve got to continue to do that.”