alt="LA Kings Insider with Rich Hammond" />Jonathan Bernier recorded his second shutout, and improved his record to 5-1 this season, as he made 40 saves in Mancehster’s 2-0 victory over Bridgeport on Friday night. Bernier now has a 1.34 goals-against average and has stopped 208 of 216 shots (.963 save percentage) this season.
John Zeiler scored his first goal of the season, in the second period, with assists from Brandon Segal and Marc-Andre Cliche. Andrei Loktionov scored his fifth goal of the season, midway through the third period, with assists from Oscar Moller and Thomas Hickey. Manchester improved to 6-2, first place in the Atlantic Division.
Good times.
Remember though that La Barbera was an AHL allstar…
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I like Bernier, but I hope they let him continue to develop and learn with Manchester. I think so much of a goaltenders success comes from confidence, and if they bring him up too soon, he may not be as good as he could be with more experience winning. Hopefully he’ll be a great one for us in a couple years.
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say wat u want but BERNIER is the real deal! and very very soon he will make his point. GO BERNIER GO. GO KINGS GO
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@ Bobby Scribe – finally someone said it. I think Weekend at Bernier can be different, but we need to temper our expectations for his and our sakes. He’ll be good and eventually an LA netminder but there’s no reason to anoint him the savior just yet
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I MISS ZEE!!!!
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AND BERNIER IS A LOSER
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I look forward to seeing Bernier and Quick fight it out for #1. What a a great problem to have. And if Bernier wins wow – that’d would mean our best player or one of our best was our goalie for once in many many years.
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Who is ‘ZEE’?…. Cechmanek? …. oh, and what gives You the right to call Bernier a loser? You know him personally then I gather?
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Im just glad Barbie, is riding the bench somewhere else now. Making the transition from AHL to NHL can be tough and he never did it. Hopefully Bernier will be able to do it successfully.
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Bernier is on FIRE!
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I agree 100% with bobby scribe. I would love to get really excited but a player hasn’t really proven anything untill he can consistently produce at the NHL level. :)
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I am trying not to remember anything about Lababera. I have a 1000 soft disappointing goals that trickled into the net causing a momentum shift and the Kings to lose games they should have won etched into my thick skull.
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I like Birnier.
I thought he had a better training camp than Quick did, and should be our #1 goalie.
But too bad for Benier that TM is head over heels over Quick. Too obsessed
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its understandable that the Kings want Bernier to get the important minutes in goal with Manchester and not sit on the bench and watching games as a #2 in the NHL.
But it has to be frustrating for Bernier cause he knows he is good enough to be in the NHL.
Hopefully he gets a call up for a 2 week stint on a road trip or something. Even just to get the extra exposure to the NHL.
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Holy crap I was expecting the comments to be filled with “Bench Quick, get Bernier up here now!!!!”. Well done, those of you that realize that dominating AHL games does not mean being able to jump into the deep waters of the NHL right away. Anyone remember Steve Passmore? Yeah, neither do I. He was once upon a time dubbed the best goaltender not in the NHL. He bounced around organizations (including a cup of coffee with the Kings) but never became a steady NHLer. Let Bernier play 65-70 games in the A and let him develop for a season, and give him a look with the big club next year. Until then, why don’t we just consider him a contingency plan if Johnny Q gets hurt, or pulls a Cechmanek/Cloutier?
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very good and give a chance to Q
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I couldn’t agree more with Action up there. Goalies in general and Bernier in specific seem to be fragile people. You want to boost his confidence, not give it blows. Letting him start and finish a successful campaign in the A would be huge for him in the long run. Lest we forget what happened to him a season ago and how he reacted.
I would argue that Jon Bernier’s ascension is the difference between us being a true contender or a playoff disappointment. Quick is good and could get us to a second round, but JB’s immense talent is the real deal.
Here’s to hoping his brittle ego can bear the load of that ability.
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Yeah, but did Labarbera put up those kinds of numbers. 2 shut outs and a 1.38 in a league where offense dominates is very impressive, but let him stay down there putting up those numers up while Quick puts together an impressive winning season. Next season we’ll have something extra every other team needs.
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You guys are all very negative. I guess we shouldn’t be excited about any of our prospects then. Loki sucks, Schenn sucks, et al. I have no problems getting excited about this kid and agree with Anthonyy (am I really saying that?) that Bernier outplayed both Quick and EE in training camp. DL isn’t doing anything different from what he did in SJ with Nabokov and Kipprusof though. The big question is who will be the Kings netminder long term? How does TM split time in goal next year or later this year? You can’t do a 60 games for Quick and 22 for Bernier.
Right now Quick needs to step up his game and there is NO confidence in EE right now.
Bernier is doing exactly what the coaches have asked him to do. Dominate the AHL. Keep your mindset and avoid meltdowns/letdowns and make us HAVE to keep you up. What other goaltender is doing that right now?
SEV, I think you are just weary from what is happening in MTL :) with Price. The rest of you are just haters.
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@RenoKingsFan
Labarbera’s stats from the A:
02-03 Hartford 46GP 2.57GAA .915SV% 2SO
03-04 Hartford 59GP 1.39GAA .936SV% 13SO(!)
04-05 Hartford 53GP 1.84GAA .934SV% 6SO
05-06 NHL
06-07 Manchest 62GP 2.20GAA .933SV% 7SO
Pretty freaking good.
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Keep in mind that 04-05 should be even more impressive because it was a lockout year in the NHL. All the eligible young NHLers were in the A tearing it up. That season would be on par with the 04-05 season, if not better.
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54Fighting, I think you’re misinterpreting what a couple of us are saying. No one is saying Bernier isn’t a great talent and he will likely be a bona fide #1 with the Kings. But keep in mind that in general goalies take a long time to develop and it’s definitely encouraging to see Bernier play well in the A instead of getting down about not making the Kings like he did last year. Let him mature, and learn how to dominate at the pro level. I don’t think anyone is in any rush. As for how they’re going to split time next year, I think we should worry about that in the offseason as opposed to now, no?
By the way, a little birdie told me that Ersberg could/will be moved later in the season, which will get Bernier up with the big club and a taste of what will (hopefully) be big games with playoff implications down the stretch. Goaltenders are a strange breed, and sometimes you can’t just throw them into the deep end and expect them to swim (Crawford already tried that). Give him some lessons, let him learn a few things, and he’ll be winning games for us before we know it. No rush. At least not yet.
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Nice to see Bernier tearing it up in the minors. With him breathing down Quick’s neck, JQ better not have any more games like Thursday against Dallas.
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dont understand why people keep saying “oh but labs was an ahl star and look what happ” c’mon guys! labs came in the league with the rangers as a backup and nothing more. he became our #1 cuz we had nobody else @ the time. Bernier is a high draft who comes from quebec where people there go out and make babies so they can grow up to become nhl goaltenders lol if u ask me we have the next marc andre fleury/roberto luongo
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Bernier needs to keep it going strong to prove that he deserves a legit shot in the show
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Unless Manchester is eliminated from the AHL playoffs, or fails to make them at all, we won’t see Bernier in LA expect for possibly a mid season call up or an injury fill in.
Kings management wants to see Bernier start a full season of minor league games, including the playoffs. With any luck both the Kings and the Monarchs make and play deep into their respective playoffs. Entirely to his credit, Bernier appears to be playing very well in Manchester right now and nothing short of starting NHL games would be better for him than learning how to dominate the American League.
While it would be fun to imagine Bernier and Quick in LA, I just don’t think it’s gonna happen.
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It sucks that the Kings have a Roberto Luongo caliber goaltender in Manchester and as a result we will miss the playoffs. In fact, it will be our luck that the Kings finish 9th in the West 1 point behind Dallas for the 8th an final playoff spot. Oh yeah, Quick gave them that 1 gift point the other night. How the heck did Fistric score that goal from over 50 feet out and no traffic the other night?
I guess DL and TM are seeing a Martin Brodeur caliber goaltender in nets currently in Quick. They must be watching 1970’s reruns and mistaken Quick with Rogie.
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I’m really happy to hear about those numbers. It doesn’t mean anything one way or the other regarding what kind of NHL goalie he’ll be. All it means is that he’s improved, which at this stage is the best we could hope for.
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Who takes the time to bash their favorite team on that team’s official fan blog?
Thank you R.E.M, I have lost all remaining hope I had in humanity.
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Ah yes…only a few years ago, a majority of boisterous Kings fans were critical of management because they were rushing young players to the NHL… Jamie Storr anyone?
Now that the system is crackling with young potential, these same fans want to rush these players’ development as if there was no tomorrow.
As difficult as that is, keep the long-term in mind. Your Kings management finally has.
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Haha attaboy REM, we all appreciate the sarcasm. Declaring that great numbers warrants Roberto Luongo comparisons….that’s good stuff :)
Thanks for brightening the day.
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I’d like to see Berier get some time witht he big club on our next trip back east. He won’t expect the call up and hopefully he could get in one or two games…it will also help his confidence that much when his time comes.
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jeez, guys is Bernier that hard to spell?
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54Fighting,
i am not much of a montreal fan. In fact, I hate them!!! :)
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54Fighting.
Are we really in agreement for once.
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When is Bernier going to have a chance anyway?
Last year, it was a coin flip, it really came down to seniority. Both guys had similar numbers, Quick already had 1 years experience, while Bernier was just a rookie in the AHL.
His numbers so far this year are on par of what we should expect. He’s meeting those expectations, making saves, and winning games.
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Bernier = the future of this team
Bernier > Quick- any day baby!!
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Keep him in the AHL all season, the Monarchs are playing well and should make the playoffs…a good playoff run and possibly winning a championship in the AHL would go along way for not just Bernier, but the whole team…beside, history shows us the Kings have always brought goaltenders along too early or traded them before their prime so they could thrive somewhere else (Huet in MTL and Legace in DET)…lets see what it’s like to develop a goalie carefully.
And I would rather Bernier be the next Martin Brodeur….as Luongo has won nothing yet, and Brodeur has 3 rings along with rewriting the record book for goaltenders.
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Quick had played in 33 games TOTAL (split over two years) in the AHL before he was called up last year, never playing a full season in the AHL (contrary to what has been posted here).
Bernier’s played in 63 so far, including a complete season last year.
If the kings goalie woes continue and Bernier keeps up his performance, we’ll be seeing him sooner that later.
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I hope Bernier stays in Manchester to keep improving, and to show consistency. That’s the big thing the kings are lacking, consistency. Bringing a player into the league too early especially a young goaltender is a big risk. Look at Marc-Andre Fleury. There was a time not to long ago that the fans in Pittsburgh wanted him gone, and he was giving up 6 goals a night. You could see his development stall, that each goal against him and every loss was just crippling his confidence. It’s more a testament on MA Fleury’s character than anything else that he is now a Stanley Cup Champion, to over come his too young a start. Look at Price in Montreal, same thing, too early in the league and he’s suffering. Give Bernier time to grow not just in his skills but as a man in Manchester.
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I’m with you DellaNooch, Brodeur>>>>>>Luongo. If only we are so lucky.
You could say based on the #’s i just posted that Quick has been rushed along perhaps too quickly. The effects may be starting to surface.
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Shutouts in the minors don’t necessarily translate to winners in the NHL. This is taking too much the shape of your typically goaltender controversy where people point to goalies who are on a streak or playing lesser competition. You have to look at the whole picture. Bernier may be the goaltender of the future, but he got tagged pretty hard the last couple times he came up–something people conveniently forget. If you’re really anxious to see Bernier, bring him up (most reasonably because we need a better backup.) Don’t do it because you want to pull the plug on Quick–it’s just not realistic.
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We are probably not going to win the championship so there is nothing wrong with leaving Bernier in the minors..on the flip side,having him practice with the Varsity team can only help…Having him practice and play a few games will make him grow as a goalie..
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