Kings view epic nine-game trip as a team-building exercise

Long trips can promote bonding when players are far from the distractions of family and chores. The Kings will have time to forge lifelong bonds while they play nine straight road games, an odyssey that will begin Tuesday in Buffalo and will be interrupted by the Christmas break after the seventh game.

“There’s still some guys that you get to know better on the road,” forward Trevor Lewis said, “and you spend a lot more time with guys, just going out to dinner, on planes and stuff. It’s good to get to know everyone like that and let loose a little bit.”

The trip will have another benefit for right wing Tyler Toffoli. His parents are planning to drive from suburban Toronto to Buffalo, and he said his mother, Mandy, is eager to make sure he’s OK after he was driven into the boards by Ottawa defenseman Mark Borowiecki on Saturday. He experienced tightness in his neck but passed the NHL’s concussion protocol and finished the game.

“She texted me and said she can’t wait to see me and see how I’m doing,” Toffoli said. “Mom being Mom. It’s all good. She’ll take care of me. She knows what to do.”

This trip will end a light part of the schedule for the Kings that featured unusually easy travel. Since they finished a five-game trip on Nov. 15 they have played only two road games, at Anaheim on Nov. 20 and what Coach Darryl Sutter called “that sleepover in Phoenix,” on Dec. 1.

That changes with seven road games in 11 days and two back-to-back sequences before Christmas. They’ll resume at Vancouver on Dec. 28 and at Edmonton on Dec. 29 before returning to Staples Center on New Year’s Eve to face San Jose.

“It’s fun. It’s a little different,” Toffoli said. “We’ve been at home for so long, so going on the road is going to feel weird at first but we’ve got to start off the trip right, with a win at Buffalo, and just keep going from there.”

To Sutter, the challenge of staying mentally sharp the past few weeks might have been greater than the physical challenge of playing so many games in the next few weeks. “We played 10 games in 27 days. Maybe this was tougher than what we’re going to do,” he said.

Defenseman Matt Greene said he hasn’t set a target for wins or points on the trip but said the Kings’ position at Christmas will be important to their battle for a playoff spot. “I know it might not be mathematically the midseason break but it feels like that, especially for the players,” he said. “Once you hit Christmas the pedal goes down until the All-Star break and it goes down a little bit more after that, so you’ve got to eat up these points and get into the holiday break.”

For Greene, a native of Grand Ledge, Mich., the Kings’ last regular-season game at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena on Thursday will have sentimental value. He recalled watching the Great Lakes Invitational college tournament there with his father and skating there while playing midget hockey. The Red Wings will move to the new Little Caesars arena next season.

“I think there’s a lot of history there but it’s turning over everywhere,” he said. “I think it will be good for them to get in their new building and embrace the history that it was and get excited for the new building.”

UP NEXT

KINGS AT BUFFALO SABRES

When: Tuesday, 4 p.m. PST.

Where: First Niagara Center

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 790.

Update: Coached by former Kings forward Dan Bylsma, the Sabres (10-11-6, including 5-6-3 at home) rank last in the East. They also rank last in the NHL in goals per game, at 2.04. Their leading scorer is right wing Kyle Okposo, who has nine goals and 18 points in 26 games. With Kings TV play-by-play voice Bob Miller skipping this trip, Gary Thorne will call this game and games at Detroit and Boston. (NBCSN will televise the Kings-Penguins game Friday at Pittsburgh). The Kings are 4-7-1 on the road this season.