News Every Day | 03 October 2022, 08:00

#LAKings Kings and Ducks injured players taking steps in the right direction (Daily News)

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, right, stops a shot as Anaheim Ducks left wing Max Comtois falls during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, right, stops a shot as Anaheim Ducks left wing Max Comtois falls during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Josh Mahura, center, is squeezed between Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson, left, and defenseman Drew Doughty during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Kings center Blake Lizotte, left, and Anaheim Ducks left wing Max Comtois face-off during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Kings center Blake Lizotte, left, and Anaheim Ducks center Justin Kirkland battle for the puck during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anaheim Ducks’ Rocco Grimaldi, left, scores on Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick sprays water on his face prior to a preseason NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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LOS ANGELES Essentially, the best news for the Kings and the Ducks on Sunday had nothing to do with the final score in their preseason game.
For the record, the Kings won 2-1 at Crypto.com Arena, sparked by first-period power-play goals from Adrian Kempe and Arthur Kaliyev. Scoring for the Ducks was Rocco Grimaldi, who is in camp on a tryout.
Bigger picture: It was the first game in about 11 months for Kings defenseman Sean Walker. Walker suffered a torn ACL in St. Louis last season in late October, an injury that required surgery and a long and arduous rehabilitation.
It was great. Just to be back out there skating with my teammates and wearing a Kings jersey again was pretty special, Walker said.
Admittedly, there was going to be a certain amount of rust, but Walker said he didnt feel hesitant in making particular moves. He later said he felt the game proved he was ready to go for the Kings season opener on Oct. 11.
The more Im getting in there and getting in game situations, Ill be more confident making those plays, said Walker, who logged 16 minutes 35 seconds of ice time.
In the morning, the Ducks were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief, receiving positive updates about defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and forward Trevor Zegras. Vaakanainen was briefly hospitalized at UCI Health Medical Center in Orange and released on Friday night after going hard into the boards in the first period against the San Jose Sharks and taken off on a stretcher.
Zegras took a brief turn on the ice at the start of practice in Irvine on Sunday morning and was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, which he suffered on Wednesday against the Arizona Coyotes.
He (Zegras) came out for a little bit for the start of practice, didn’t stay long but that’s always encouraging, Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said at Great Park Ice. And (Vaakanainen) was here this morning too. I had a chat with him before I went running out for practice. So both very encouraging in different ways.
Trevors going to be an integral part of our offense and so obviously we want him on the ice. I always worry about training camp because training camp is a big thing for coaches and its a big thing for players. The more time you miss in camp the harder it is to have a really good start. So at least we know Trevor is not going to miss a massive amount of camp.
Vaakanainen went into the boards at high speed and his teammates immediately knew he was in trouble, and Derek Grant signaled to the bench for assistance.
He went into the boards extremely hard and just that he’s up and there’s no damage anywhere else on him is incredible to me, Eakins said. It was just really good to see him. I told him this morning, its things like that that remind you of things. That young man is loved by his teammates and I thought that was really special and reassuring because I think sometimes we forget about how much people do care about us.Related Articles

McTavish returns

Ducks rookie Mason McTavish played in his first game of this preseason after being out with an injury. He was on a line with center Isac Lundestrom and Jakob Silfverberg, and had one shot on goal.
They had a strong lineup, McTavish said of the Kings. I felt like we were in our zone a lot. Could have gotten a little ugly if Gibby (John Gibson) wasnt in net.
There are two games remaining in preseason for McTavish to fine tune his game.
I just want to feel the puck a little bit more, he said. Even if you take a couple of days off (skating), youre a little rusty. Timing and handling pucks and stuff like that. Im not too worried about it.
Also

The Ducks signed defenseman Nathan Beaulieu to a one-year, one-way contract worth $850,000, announcing the deal on Saturday. He had come into camp on a tryout and adds depth and experience to the defense corps.
Number one, (he) worked his tail off and competed extremely hard at camp, Eakins said. Hes been a real selfless guy here at camp. Its not just about me, me, me. Hes really bought into team, team, team and he brings us experience. He does bring a layer of grit and grind.
And the Ducks roster came closer to rounding into shape with additional cuts Sunday. Four more players were sent to the teams AHL affiliate in San Diego – defensemen Axel Andersson and Drew Helleson, right wing Dmitry Osipov and goaltender Olle Eriksson Ek.

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