EL SEGUNDO, Calif.

Darryl Sutter rushed the Los Angeles Kings out of their locker room in Newark on Saturday night as if they were fleeing the scene of a crime.

The Kings coach was just in a hurry to get home, and that’s what his club did: On the plane by midnight, wheels up by 1 a.m. Eastern time, and in their beds back on the West Coast shortly after 4 a.m. Pacific.

“Hey, every minute counts,” Sutter said Sunday after the Kings reported for a relaxed meeting at their training complex.

Sutter’s Kings do this type of traveling all the time, with roughly a dozen cross-country flights interspersed among the usual lengthier schedule of Western Conference teams. The New Jersey Devils hardly ever get this type of transcontinental road test, but both teams think it’s unlikely to be a factor in the Stanley Cup finals.

While the Kings played their first three rounds in Vancouver, St. Louis and blessedly close Phoenix, the Devils hadn’t even been on a plane since April 26. New Jersey could use ground transportation for the 90-mile commute to Philadelphia in the second round, followed by the virtual train ride to Madison Square Garden for the Eastern Conference finals.

Although the Kings don’t expect any extra edge in Game 3 on Monday night, they realize how difficult the move can be for teams who aren’t used to it. The Boston Bruins lost the first two games of last season’s finals on the road in Vancouver, playing their worst two games of the season, before rallying to win the Stanley Cup.

“Travel in the West, it’s a little longer and tougher,” Kings forward Anze Kopitar said. “You change a lot more time zones, but it’s not going to matter. You still have to prepare yourself to play your best.”

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CHAMPIONS’ COURT: Here’s a switch: The Los Angeles Lakers are done with the postseason, so Kobe Bryant is making room for the Kings.

The Lakers loaned their practice courts to the NHL this week at the Toyota Sports Center. That’s the training complex shared by the two teams in El Segundo, a small city next to Los Angeles’ airport.

The Kings and Lakers also share Staples Center with the Clippers, but the 16-time NBA champion Lakers usually have both places all to themselves by this time of year.

The Kings and Devils spoke to the Stanley Cup finals media Sunday on the Lakers’ purpleand gold courts. The gym is decorated with championship banners, and the Lakers’ championship trophies can be seen sitting in an office window above the court.

Although Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has been training in this building since he was an 18-year-old rookie in 2008, he had never ventured 100 feet over to the basketball side of the complex.

The complex has three ice rinks, including the Kings’ primary practice rink, which will need a renovation in the offseason to create a spot for at least their new Western Conference championship banner. Los Angeles’ only two banners for team success already hang over the ice, recognizing the 1991 Smythe Division title and the 1993 conference crown.