Jonathan Quick makes progress; Colin Fraser will sit

Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick has been sidelined because of a groin strain.

By Helene Elliott

Dec. 13, 2013 10:46 AM PT

TORONTO — Greetings from Toronto — but first a bit of good news from back in Los Angeles.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick, out of the lineup since he sustained a groin strain on Nov. 12, skated on Thursday at the team’s El Segundo practice facility. The plan was for him to get back onto the ice to get the feel of skating again and then monitor him to see how he feels before proceeding with the next steps in his recovery.

“Just an initial, controlled skate,” said Jeff Solomon, the Kings’ vice president of hockey operatons and legal affairs and a member of the traveling party on this four-game trip.

Projections for Quick’s return to competition have centered on Christmas. David Poile, general manager of the U.S. Olympic hockey team for the Sochi Games, has said he has been told Quick will play again before the end of the month.

Back to Toronto, where the Kings practiced at the Maple Leafs’ practice facility Friday morning before boarding a charter flight to Ottawa for Saturday’s game against the Senators.

Not everyone practiced, though: Center Colin Fraser, who suffered an apparent concussion during a 3-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, was held off the ice per the league’s concussion protocol. He won’t play on Saturday, but the good news is he said he felt good and had wanted to skate on Friday but was told to take it easy and instead ride a stationary bike.

“I never had one before,” he said of experiencing a concussion.

Fraser was hit into the boards by Toronto’s Frazer McLaren. “I saw it coming,” he said. “I remember it all.”

Fraser’s place between Daniel Carcillo and Jordan Nolan was taken in practice by Linden Vey, but Matt Frattin and Trevor Lewis also were in the mix and Coach Darryl Sutter wasn’t revealing his plans beyond saying that Fraser won’t play.

“We’ll decide tonight, talk to the guys, get a better read on Ottawa,” Sutter said.

The other lines were the same: Dwight Kings-Anze Kopitar-Jeff Carter; Dustin Brown-Jarret Stoll-Justin Wiliams and Kyle Clifford-Mike Richards-Tyler Toffoli.

Matt Greene rotated in on defense but isn’t expected to play because there’s no reason to disrupt the lineup after five straight wins. “I’m not going to put him in, just to put him in,” Sutter said.

Before practice, Sutter had a brief reunion with his brother Brent, who will coach Canada in the upcoming world junior championships in Malmo, Sweden. The Canadian junior team will prepare for the tournament at the same facility the Kings used on Friday.

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