This morning, I caught up with Manchester Monarchs coach Mark Morris, as part of a couple player features that will be published within the next week. Additionally, I asked Morris about the play of his team in general and, in particular, about the play of AHL goalie of the year Jonathan Bernier. The Monarchs had an excellent start to this season but were decimated by injuries and by call-ups to the Kings. They finished third in their division but upset the second-place team (Portland) in the first round and are now one win away from eliminating the first-place team (Worcester) in the second round. Bernier, who has two shutouts in nine playoff games so far, has been a big part of the Monarch’s season-long success. Here’s some thoughts from Morris and, below, a podcast done with Monarchs GM (and Kings assistant GM) Ron Hextall…
Question: You’ve had some great play by Jonathan Bernier in the playoffs so far. From your perspective, is that just a continuation of what you saw in the regular season?
MORRIS: “I think he just brings a whole calming influence to our entire team. He makes the hard saves look easy, and there’s no wasted motion in his game. As shooters come down on him, there isn’t a whole lot for them to see. How he presents himself to the shooter is a big deterrent, and he absorbs shots. There’s not too many rebounds. His confidence is brimming right now, and it certainly has carried over to our team’s success. He’s the one that gave us the opportunities, with so many first- and second-year players, to get our bearings. As soon as we got (Andrei) Loktionov and (Oscar) Moller back, and got some guys healthy, the combination of the great goaltending that we saw throughout the year and depth has really helped our stretch run.”
Question: You had so many injuries during the season. Now that you have some better stability, does this feel more like where you wanted to be throughout the year?
MORRIS: “We’re still a work in progress, believe it or not. We’re still trying to work on our chemistry. I have a list of guys who have been here. I formulated it yesterday. The count is 14 guys who aren’t here now, who have helped us get to this point. Needless to say, it’s just been crazy, and if you count (J-F) Berube and (Jordan) Nolan, there’s 16 different personalities that aren’t even in the lineup now but have contributed to how we got here. I guess it all points back to Bernier being the guy in the early going, when we were getting outshot, giving us the opportunity to stay in tight games. The handful of guys that we’ve had for the last couple years, guys like (Trevor) Lewis and (Gabe) Gauthier and (Marc-Andre) Cliche, (Drew) Bagnall, those types of guys have really carried us. And (John) Zeiler. Those guys, during critical moments, get quality minutes, and they’ve held their ground. They’ve killed a lot of penalties and endured a lot of real hectic moments to make up for a lot of inexperience. I think those guys are kind of our unsung heroes, getting us to this point.”
Cool interview. I wish I could watch their playoff games.
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David Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
@Sebastian,
They are streamed on the AHL website.
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I was listening to the game last night. Similar to the Kings, the Monarchs were playing well the first 2 periods and in the 3rd the Sharks really turned it on while the Monarchs were back on their heels. Bernier stopped a breakaway with less than 5 minutes left. On the other hand, Cliche also had a breakaway but didn’t score. Seems like Bernier really saved their butts last night, not to mention he was the #1 star of the game.
If the Monarchs win the series they’ll play the Hershey Bears, who are the farm team for the Caps and bear a strong resemblance to them – a super high scoring team, but with a goalie that doesn’t have very good stats in the playoffs. Who knows, maybe Bernier can be what Halak was in the Caps-Habs series.
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Newf Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
@Phil, but don’t the Kings usually start slow and then play well in the 2nd and 3rd?
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I am very happy for the Monarchs, due to their trials and travails this season. Let’s wait until the series has concluded before counting out Worcester, though…
What I like the best about the Manchester run, though, is that a): they have the speed that the Kings need, forwards and D-men; b): they have the second goalie, Bernier, with a complementary style as compared to JQ. One goalie is large with positioning strength; the other is athletic and makes the occasional spectacular save. I think they will work extremely well together next year. Add to the mix Mr. Brayden Schenn plus perhaps one of the Junior players, and I think the Kings can challenge the Blackhawks, Sharks and Canucks for Western supremacy right away, in the 2010-2011 season. Before the start of 2009-2010, I thought the Kings would barely make the playoffs, and I was wrong. They were much better than that this year.
This playoff run is such a gift for this organization. Excellence must be bred at all organization levels. Thanks, Rich, for keeping us in the Manchester Loop.
–GO MONARCHS!–
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” Iam going to change the lines up and see if we can score some more…its been a heavy series but we are playing the right way…Iam also putting Jones back in..He looked good in practice today….” Those wouldve been Murray’s comments if he was the head coach….
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VanKingsFan Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
@neil,
What was the point of this?? To slag off the coach who led us to our best season in YEARS and YEARS and YEARS, even though we weren’t expected to be that good and had an almost rookie goalie lead us the whole way….?
I shouldnt have commented.. probably exactly the response you wanted.
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neil Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
@VanKingsFan, Sorry you didnt like it…it was a satire on our coach….. I was hoping someone might smile at it…. we all need to laugh at each other or ourselves at time…
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mrbrett7 Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
@neil, If that was the reaction you wanted, perhaps you shouldn’t repeat yourself for 6 straight months.
tantrum4 Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
@neil,
Umm..it would be pretty much every coach in the NHL making those comments. Are you not watching any of the rest of the playoffs? Name one line on any team that has stayed together the whole time during the playoffs. It just seems like Murray switches them up a lot because most Kings fans don’t pay attention to other teams’ line combinations throughout the season. Every coach changes lines quite often.
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So odd that he mentioned Jordan Nolan. Whereas Berube actually backstopped the Monarchs to a win, during their five goalies, five wins streak, Nolan never dressed for a single Monarchs game.
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Thanks for doing the interview with Morris. Looking forward to what you’ve got on some of the players.
Hope the Monarchs can clinch at home tomorrow night as I’d rather not make the drive back to Worcester Saturday.
LETS GO MONARCHS!!!
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go monarchs go…!
i love to hear are guys bringing it when it counts…
btw…
anybody watching franzen go crazy in the 1st…?
that’s the first time ever i have seen someone score 4 consecutive goals….
wowowow…!
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Marc Nathan Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
@variable, I was looking in the NHL Guide And Record Book (on line) to see if that’s a record. Of course, the idea that two players in NHL history scored THREE GOALS in TWENTY ONE SECONDS… that’s pretty insane too.
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Marc Nathan Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
@variable, kinda makes you wonder how Bill Mosienko once scored three goals in TWENTY ONE SECONDS… LOL.
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variable Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
@Marc Nathan,
totally…!
however, i think they just credited the first goal to bertuzzi…franzen ONLY gets an assist…
still…very impressive…that spinning backhander off a rebound was beauty…!
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NOW IMPRESSED Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
@variable,
Opps, didn’t read your message before sending mine.
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RLane420 Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
@variable, Not to mention 1 period, geez!
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Wow! Johan Franzen scored a hat trick with the game less than 11 minutes old and scored again. Detriot leads the Sharks 5-0 after the 1st.
Detriot aint going to lie down and give up on this series.
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luc20rules Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, I will be very impressed if they pull the series out though! 4 in a row is alot to overcome with 2 on the road and a rookie goalie.
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Brimming with confidence eh? Wait till Terry gets a hold of him…
I kid, I kid…
So, http://www.lakingsnews.com is doing a free agent preview. Check it out.
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