The Kings have all three goalies — Jonathan Bernier, Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Quick — on the ice for practice. It’s a situation that, long term, can be difficult for teams and goalies, since obviously there are only two nets. That’s a big reason why very few teams ever carry three goalies. Hopefully we’ll find out after practice what the Kings’ goalie plan is.
It’s a full practice, and for the second consecutive day, the Kings’ forward lines are the same. That ties a season high (just a little joke…)
Much more to come after practice…
Just send Bernier back to Manchester so he can get back to the job at hand.
The Kings need to score some goals. Rewarding Parse with 5+ minutes of ice time after he was the only one who could put the puck in the net against Minnesota was weird, no?
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VanKingsFan Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:28 pm
@Marc Nathan,
Just because you score a goal doesn’t mean you are the best player to have on the ice most of the time.
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Dan Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:35 pm
@VanKingsFan,
But he should have had more than 3+ min in the first 2 periods and more than 5+ in the whole game. If he is the only one scoring his minutes should increase.
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mrbrett7 Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:39 pm
@Dan, There is more to hockey than scoring goals.
David Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:33 pm
@Dan,
TM did that last time and ended up having to bench him for his poor play.
Stop the Puck Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:34 pm
@Marc Nathan,
the job at hand is the LA kings winning games, not carrying out the ideal plan set forth at the beginning of the year. hiller supplanted giguere, osgood supplanted hasek, this happens all the time. Wins are more important than anything
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Little Willy Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:10 pm
@Stop the Puck, Your name says it all!!!!!!
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Sam Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:40 pm
@Marc Nathan, Parse scored that goal late in the game on the 4th line. What was more likely, Parse scoring or Kopitar/Smyth/Williams generating a goal?
And as much as getting Manchester to the playoffs would be great, I’d trade their playoffs for the Kings’ playoffs in a microsecond. If that requires Berns stick, than so be it.
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shades Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:06 pm
@Sam, Good question…if I could only remember the last time that K,S and W generated a goal it would be easier to answer.
Def. agree about the Manchester comment. It’s where they develop the younger players for the big time. Otherwise, I guess the Dodgers would send Kemp, Loney and Ethier back to AAA so that they could win few championships down there.
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Little Willy Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:44 pm
@Marc Nathan, Looking out for number# 1 IS THE REAL TASK AT HAND HERE!!! Which happens to be the LA KINGS!! BERNIER ain t goin anywhere…DEAL WITH IT!!!
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Nitrohockey Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:54 pm
@Little Willy, possibly, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Unless DL sees, knows or senses something with the team that makes keeping Bernier here mandatory, I think he sticks with his original plan of letting Bernier cut his playoff teeth in Manchester, and having Quick carry us in our playoff run. I’m not ready to believe he’s the second coming of Roy based on two games, and Bernier has had his share of stinkers in Manchester this year. And that’s AHL, not NHL talent and speed.
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Quisp Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:59 pm
@Nitrohockey,
Yeah, NHL players are faster. But defense is also better, more coherent, less running around, better protection, etc.. Playing goalie in the AHL is a chaotic event. Much less so in the big league.
You can say he’s had “his share of stinkers,” but that’s meaningless. Everyone has bad games. Bernier’s numbers are the best in the league this year, by far.
OneTimer Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:01 pm
@Marc Nathan,
Agree 100%. Bernsy was stupendous last night- I love this kid and the future that he will likely FINALLY BRING IN NET (along with Quick) to the Kings … but he has a job to finish, and rightly so, down in Manchester.
Quick deserves everything he has done, and may do – with our triumphent return to the playoffs in the 2009-2010 season. Ersberg too.
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Seattle757 Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 5:43 pm
@Quisp,
“You can say he’s had “his share of stinkers,” but that’s meaningless. Everyone has bad games. Bernier’s numbers are the best in the league this year, by far.”
So I guess this comment only applies to Bernier, not Quick and especially Ersberg! *Sarcasm*
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Nice one Rich! Any word on how EE’s back is feeling?
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Little Willy Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:03 pm
@LomitaKingsFan, He ll get BACK to you on that one!!!lolzzzz
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Marc Nathan Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:17 pm
@LomitaKingsFan, Ersberg’s back has always been fine. It’s his ego that’s been bruised.
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This is definitely an interesting situation. I still think the SOL against the Avs may have been a win with Quick in there.
Rich, i read the posts about why he pulled Quick in that game against the Avs, he refered to it as Quick not looking sharp. Not sure what TM was thinking 2 of those went off our own player and into the net. Was it a body language type thing?
Im also curious to see what Ersberg’s record is in shoot outs, i know it’s great.
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kingsxstevenxkings Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:33 pm
@eyesk8r,
EE has lost both shootouts he’s been in this year. One to Edmonton and the one to Colorado.
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kingsxstevenxkings Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:35 pm
@kingsxstevenxkings,
And last year he was 0-4 losing to Col, Dal, Atl, and Sjs.
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kingsxstevenxkings Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:38 pm
@kingsxstevenxkings,
In 07-08 however, he was a whopping 2-3 in shootouts! He lost to the ducks but beat phoenix and ottawa (both shutout games too.)
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Quisp Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 3:01 pm
@kingsxstevenxkings,
performance in shoot-outs has been shown to be (literally) random. it has also been shown that past performance (for both players and goalies) is not an indicator of future performance. you would do better by betting that a player who was previously great in the shootout would revert to the mean by sucking for awhile.
Nitrohockey Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:34 pm
@eyesk8r, It’s possible. But all that is water under the bridge. Too many “what if’s?” to worry about it now. Quick got pulled, Ersberg didn’t allow another goal and kept the Kings in it. Then they lost in a shootout. We could easily blame the Kings for not scoring more and for not scoring more in the shootout. But past is past, let’s move on to Thursday!
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:35 pm
@eyesk8r, Good thing they managed not to put it in a couple times on Bernier, or all these people who think Bernier is God wouldn’t have anyone to worship.
(This is not to take anything away from Bernier, just a recognition of reality.)
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Little Willy Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:47 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Bernier s crease awareness would ve stop those pucks from goin in!!!At least one of the two anyways1 Quick looks nervous and panicky,Bernier …well..NOT!!!
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shades Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:10 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, True…as soon as Bernier F’s up…they’ll be screaming at TM and DL about why they kept putting the kid in there.
Does anyone know why Bernier was not given much of a shot this year? I really don’t remember…did he play badly in pre-season or was it just that they wanted to give him another year in Manchester?
Anyway, I think they should stick with him until he has a bad game. He looks solid technically, plays calm and confident and appears to have the huevos…nice whack he gave at the end of the game yesterday. I don’t know who he hit, but it wasn’t taken too kindly.
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Dan H. Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:27 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
I’m with you dude. I’m glad Bernier is solid and hope he’s great next year as well.
Quick has won 38/39 games this year? That’s a great season and he was the MVP of most of it. Winning shootouts when your team only scores one is great but somewhere the goalie needs support.
Bernier may or may not be the answer in net but they need to figure out how to put the puck in the net.
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Quisp Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 3:05 pm
@Dan H
agreed. interestingly, in the beginning of the year, quick was playing great in losses and saved his iffy performances for wins (which was easy to forgive). I don’t think he’s playing worse, really (though I do think he’s tired), as much as the law of averages is catching up to him.
also, there’s a strong correlation between brown and kopitar disappearing and the kings losing.
mrbrett7 Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:42 pm
@eyesk8r, Yes, but he was pulled more in reference to those pucks travelling through the blue part of the crease, and those are pucks that Quick has to intercept before they ever have a chance to deflect off of anyone.
I don’t completely agree with that, but there is a point to it.
I’ve played defense for 25+ years, and I’ve probably had more goals go in off of me into my own net than I have scored myself. All that comes from is some unlucky bounces while your in the right position.
I don’t agree with blaming anyone for those goals…it happens.
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Lanny McDonald's 'Stache Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:15 pm
@mrbrett7, Yes. This is the first post I’ve seen that mentioned this. It is Quick’s job to be alert and ready for those pucks because it is a fact of the game that deflections like that will happen. If you are not mentally alert at all times and ready for the puck to fly at you, you’re not doing your job as a goaltender.
That being said, I think Quick’s been dynamite for us all year. In my humble view, let Bernier keep playing until he drops one, then Quick will hopefully be rested and re-focused (and possibly with a fire lit under his bum, as he’s looked mortal in his last few).
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mrbrett7 Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:34 pm
@Lanny McDonald’s ‘Stache, I won’t argue with you at all…I just want to win, I don’t really care about anything else.
My view of the game I guess is different from many, because I have played for so long.
When you play defense, you see the game differently. Just last season alone, I had 3 goals go off my skate into my own net. All I was trying to do was block a shot or a pass, but it happens.
Yes, it’s the goaltenders responsibility to be ready for anything at any time, but sometimes, crap happens. It’s how you react to that crap and how you overcome those obstacles…that’s what really makes the difference.
I’m sure Quick is just as frustrated with his level of play as the rest of us, if not more so. You don’t get to this level without being a major competitor, and from what I’ve seen of him, he takes evey goal he gives up personal (whether that’s good or not, I’m not so sure about).
Dan H. Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 3:16 pm
@Lanny McDonald’s ‘Stache,
I remember one in particular that went off of Johnsons skate. Quick was down and had the paddle down and was corraling it when Johnson Kicked it past him. That has nothing to do with Quick. As was said above it’s a bad bounce :/
Hmm, maybe the revolving door is slowing…
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:36 pm
@Matt R, You know how your parents used to let you open a package on Christmas Eve? Well, that’s how these Bernier games are. You get to open the rest of the package after the playoffs.
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Loved the line-juggling dig.
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Thanks Rich! That was nicely snuck in there! I say go for three straight games of the same lines and set a season high record!
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1. Avalanche game: when a team is clearly out of sync, such as in that Avs game, switching the goalie can make the team realize they need to turn it around. That game was perfect example of that move actually working.
2. Ersberg sucks in shootouts, just like Labarbara does.
3. Bernier is by far the most technically sound of the three goalies and Ersberg is by far the weakest. Its a tough call, but give Bernier a shot? You never know, remember Patrick Roy? Conn Smythe as a rookie….
just sayin
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Quisp Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 3:07 pm
@alex,
remember ken dryden, conn smythe before he was a rookie!
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funny, fast and clutch…thanks, RICH…!
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I thought that WAS a season-high. Did Greener tell you to say that? LOL!
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Hey…I just noticed…
THE SLASH IS BACK!!!! Did Mexico want their question mark back?
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Nitrohockey Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:46 pm
@Cynic, Haha! I saw that too and commented on another thread. I’m hoping it’s the start of a new winning streak!
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variable Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:04 pm
@Nitrohockey,
it’s the first bar in our cup dynasty…
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Starlight Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:28 pm
@Cynic, so it is! The Case of the Curious Symbol…
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OMG Rich, u better watch what your saying or TM will have u centering the 4th line and Ratis hardly ever passes!!!!
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Little Willy Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 1:54 pm
@Little Willy, hmmmm…on second thought,,does he even kno how???????LOLZZZZ
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Jonathan Bernier is the better goaltender, despite the success that Quick has had. And I think management is finally beginning to notice that.
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shades Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:12 pm
@Nyck, I agree for the reasons I stated above. I think management knows or knew he would be the guy eventually but I wonder why he wasn’t given a shot this year.
Anyone know?
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Little Willy Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:26 pm
@shades, They felt they rushed him the first time ,so the plan was to take it slowly with him and to let him have one full year in the minors so he could get back on track!!
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Little Willy Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:17 pm
@Nyck, My sentiments exactly!!This was getting to close for comfort to keep believing Quick will come around!!Look at the body language between the two! It really says it all…….
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KingsFan in OC Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:44 pm
@Nyck,
Bernier is the better goaltender based on what? Elaborate. Is he better based on the grand total of 6 NHL games he has played in with a record of 3-3? Or is there some other criteria to which you are referring?
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this is one of the best problems to have…2/3 good goalies to choose from
i’m thinkin we have to play JB – ride the wave so to speak
cannot wait to see what TM does for tomorrows game
& btw – Matt Greene is a beast
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Maybe I’m the only one, but Berniergod shows the determination. Quick hasn’t been. He isn’t sharp when berniergod is. He’s been in position and plays the puck WHEN NEEDED to.
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Cry Baby Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 2:30 pm
@Mark, 3 NHL wins and Bernier elevated to god. What pharmacy do you get your smoke from?
This goalie thing is a wonderful problem to have. For as long as I can remember the Kings have had issues in goal and now we are blessed with 2 capable goalies. My opinion is to stay with Quick as he has got the Kings this far. The reason the Kings are in it, is at least in part, to the goaltending they have got all year long. With that said, if TM goes with Bernier I am fine with that too. Whoever gives the Kings the best chance to win. That decision goes to the coach…not me.
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Rich, and that’s why I love reading your blog – great sense of humor!!!!!
Thanks!!!!!
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This is similiar to the Roloson, Garon and Deslauriers situation last season in Edmonton.
Not a big deal to carry three, it can be worked out.
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Why does Justin Williams get a pass on his spotty offensive play? He consistently turns the puck over in all zones but he’s never called out for it. He does hustle on the back check and the forecheck but is that enough to get a pass. I like the guy but it’s not like his timing is off like Jim Fox suggested a couple of games ago. He was playing the same way before he got hurt.
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So, this may be a stupid question, but if Manchester gets into the playoffs and Bernier stays with us, who’s in goal out there? They have to have another goalie, right?
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Capt Jam Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 3:52 pm
@zweeberly3,
Hexy has to suit up.
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@crybaby
First of all. It’s a joke so keep your pants on.
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Bernier’s got the touch and the focus, so let him run with it until he loses it…which, hopefully, won’t be before June 18.
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iirc, the last time their were three goalies in the rotation, was back in 93. kings started out the season flying sans gretzky, then tumbled near the end and brought in knickle from the gulls to play net for a few games. kings took the 7th seed and ended up in the finals.
so we start out this season better than expected, have tumbled since the olympic break, and have brought in bernier to play net. looks like we’ll prob get the 7th seed this year too…
interesting…
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glad to see JB finally do something thought we wasted a 1 round pick like we have done so many other times in the past really really happy to see that he has improved from the last time he was in the NHL also think the age and experience may have helped. sad that EE will probably be gone anyone know how much longer EE’s contract is? probably trade him for a draft pick in summer
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