LA Kings

After a frustrating 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, the LA Kings opted to make some big lineup adjustments for Wednesday’s practice session.

Of note, Drew Doughty was absent from practice today for what head coach Todd McLellan called a maintenance day. He will be available for tomorrow night’s game against the Red Wings.

Brandt Clarke recalled

With the offense and power play struggling, the Kings called up defenseman Brandt Clarke from the American Hockey League.

It turned out to be an eventful day for the Clarke family as Brandt’s brother Graeme had also been called up to the New Jersey Devils just an hour prior.

 

Clarke on the big day:

“My brother got the call last night. He was in Utica hanging with his buddies, then he got called that he had to drive to Newark and catch a plane to Washington. Yeah, I was excited for him, my whole family was excited for him. My parents were booking the flights then I called them and said ‘Hey, I also just got called up’. So that was pretty cool. Cool day.”

Clarke on what he’s learned in the AHL:

“I think just playing against pro competition every day it makes you have to be reliable. It all starts with clean breakouts. It starts with shutting teams down easily. If I want to do what I want to do offensively then we have to have the puck and it all starts with me being responsible in my own end. And I think I’ve done a really good job at that. I’m happy with how I’ve played and I’m happy with how our team has played as well. So that makes it easier. It’s been a really good time with them.”

Clarke on how the coaching staff has allowed him to be himself while also teaching him the defensive side of the game:

“They’ve been really hands on just trying to help me be an all-around player. Every video review we do it’s defensively, it’s defending the rush. And they always say to me, ‘why would I show you anything offensively? You just do what you do out there.’ I appreciate that I have that kind of leeway and they have that belief system in me all throughout this organization. It means a lot to me. I just want to make them proud. Just be smart defensively and take over when I can.”

In 30 games as a rookie with the Ontario Reign, Clarke has seven goals and 25 assists leading all AHL defensemen and tied for second among all skaters. In a corresponding move, the team placed defenseman Tobias Bjornfot on waivers.

 

McLellan on the decision to place Bjornfot on waivers and recall Clarke:

“Actually happy for both of them. And that’s going to sound really strange for Toby. But Toby needs to play. We got our fingers crossed we don’t lose him to another organization, but he needs to play. He’s still a young player and having him practice and not get the reward of being in the competition is not good for him at that young age. We’ll try and get him to the American League and get him playing lots of games.

Brandt on the other hand has been playing a lot. He’s been playing high minutes, he’s been productive. And we got to figure out where he fits in the puzzle not only for this year but also moving forward deeper into the year, the playoffs, and beyond.”

With Drew Doughty absent from the morning session, McLellan opted to have Clarke take his spot alongside Mikey Anderson. With Drew available for tomorrow’s game it’s still up in the air where or when we’ll see Brandt play. Though, I’d be surprised if he was in the lineup tomorrow.

 

McLellan on the possibility of two right-shot defensemen playing together:

“It has to be at some point that righty plays with righty. Each one of our righties has done that, including Brandt in the past. So it’s not a jolt to their system. They’ve been there before and they’ve done that before.”

McLellan on if this could put Jordan Spence’s spot in jeopardy:

“Nobody’s spot is in jeopary because we’re going to need seven or eight defensemen as we go. Spence has played outstanding in my mind. He’s really played well for most of the year. Andreas has come in and played very well. That pair has been a pretty darn good pair. There’s four others above them that have had real good competitive nights. But what we have to do is have seven available and Brandt Clarke is one of the top defenseman in the world outside of the NHL right now. And he’s now in the NHL. So we’ll make sure we work everybody through. Nobody is getting punished.”

Changes upfront

Looking to “jolt some players” last night, McLellan brought out the blender to the top three forward lines for the first time this season. “I do think we played more assertive and faster in the second half of the game,” McLellan said during the postgame media availability.

He liked the changes enough to keep them in place during today’s practice.

Considering McLellan’s admiration for sticking with forward duos like Kempe-Kopitar and Moore-Danault, these moves could be characterized as drastic.

 

McLellan on the changes to the forward lines:

“It was time. The execution had fallen off between individuals. The connectivity, I believe guys used that word after the game. Reviewing and looking back we were better the second half of the game as far as pace goes. Again, is that the change? Did we get their attention? Or was that the opposition playing the score a little bit more? Everything comes into play.”

The LA Kings will look to turn things around tomorrow night at home when they faceoff against the Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 pm PT.

Featured Image Credit:  Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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