Kevin Fiala wrote a blog for NHL.com when the Los Angeles Kings visited Melbourne, Australia, in the NHL’s first event in the Southern Hemisphere. The Kings defeated the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday after losing to them 5-3 on Saturday to open the preseason.
Today, the forward wraps up the experience.
MELBOURNE, Australia -- We gave the fans one last show after the game by doing a shootout. I worked on some moves in the summer, and I’m glad one worked out when I scored on a deke. The horn sounded and the fans cheered.
The trip was so much fun. When we took a team picture in the end, it was kind of sad because it's over. It was a good bonding trip. We got some work done; we had some fun off the ice as well.
The trip to the nature sanctuary was very special. A couple of days ago, I also took a bike ride by myself to discover the city. When I want to discover a city, I like to go by myself, so I can go wherever I want to go and stop whenever I want to take pictures. I spent an hour riding all over. I crossed the Yarra River and saw some nice birds. There were so many birds. I honestly really like this city -- really like it.
We're excited to get back home, though. We have high expectations on us this season. We're a good team.
Game on.
Last year, we went out too early in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference First Round. This year, we're a better team, so we should go farther. But it’s not even Game 1 yet, so we have time. There's an 82-game season coming up. It's a long road, so we have to be consistent, and I'm sure we're going to be.
