As previously posted, Erik Ersberg was back on this ice this morning after being out of practice for five days with a sore left hand. Ersberg said there were still some issues with flexibility in his hand/wrist, but he made it through the entire practice. Ersberg had been scheduled to play last Wednesday’s preseason opener at Colorado, but Terry Murray said today that he hadn’t decided if Ersberg would play in Tuesday’s preseason game against the Ducks at Staples Center.
“Because it was kind of a surprise to me that he was out there (in practice today), I’ll just take some time here to look it over and think about it,” Murray said. “But yes, I do want to get him in.”
So far, Jonathan Bernier has started twice and played five periods, Jonathan Quick has started once and played three periods and Jeff Zatkoff — assigned yesterday to Manchester — played one period.
You can’t help but feel bad for Ersberg…I wanted him to get much more playing time last year, and he never was given a fair chance. Hopefully something good will pan out for him…but probably not with the Kings.
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badGoltending Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
@rontheking, I actually feel really happy for ERIK. I don’t think he will make the backup spot.
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Sad but he might find a team that will need him more ,play him more .hopefully anyway if thats how it works out.
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I give props to the King’s organization for letting EE have a shot. What I personally think is going on … the King’s organization is putting on the facade of competition between EE and Bernier in order to give EE the best possible chance of getting picked up by another team. Showing EE in the best possible light as it were. EE deserves the best chance possible, we owe him that imho. I like what they’re doing.
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DougS Reply:
September 25th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
@KC23,
I wonder if Minnesota will be interested in EE now. Sounds like Harding tore up his knee something awful.
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KC23 Reply:
September 25th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
@DougS,
I hope so. I just don’t like the feel of what we are doing to EE. I know its just business, but EE really seems to be a class act and I want to see him get a job somewhere in the NHL.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
September 25th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
@KC23,
I have to agree with you, and maybe some of it is to upgrade EE price on the open market???
As for EE, I believe he got the short end of the stick through no fault of his own last season. Gotta admit though, having Quicker and Bernie as goalies doesn’t leave much room for anyone else and bodes well for this organization and the future. Best of luck always to EE, especially if he ends up staying with us.
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USHA#17 Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 9:57 am
@Kingsfanone,
Yeah, I felt the same way, especially toward the lost three weeks of the season.
But, its hard to mess with success and the Kings managed to hang on in what turned out to a tight race.
Its hard to get used to an LA team with too many options in goal.
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yes. he does seem to be a very decent person.
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Speaking of goalies, we put up our season preview look at the Kings’ two headed dragons, Jonathans squared, earlier today. Check it out.
http://lakingsnews.com/2010/09/25/l-a-kings-season-preview-the-two-headed-dragon-jonathans-squared/
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rontheking Reply:
September 25th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
@Bobby Scribe,
Nice article!
Goalies are among the strangest of animals. I remember catching Stephane Fiset sneaking out of the back of the Forum late one season after a game. “Stefan Fiset!” I said and he cringed noticeably. Fiset was really built for a goaltender, wide shoulders with a thick upper body, even in his tailored suit.
So of course in the moment I couldn’t think of even one smart question to ask him.
But the Kings still had a chance to make the playoffs that year with about eight games remaining, so I stupidly gushed, “Stefan…do you think you guys are going to make the playoffs?”
“Well,” he said (and you have to imagine the heavy French Canadian accent here), “that is what we are trying to do….”
Ask a dumb question….
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jet Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 11:59 am
@rontheking, You are not alone. I ran into a referee from the CHL at a charity function. The only thing I could think to ask was if there was stil prejudice in juniors. Of course, as I was trying to get to sleep that night my mind raced with 3 or 4 hours worth of questions. It sure gave me an even greater appreciation of Rich.
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fans:
don’t where else to post this. i thought hockey was
better with a balanced schedule. i get tired of seeing
those dogs or the flames 14 times a season.wouldn’t need so many thugs if they didn’t learn to hate each
other so much.over & over & over like a {former}#24
wrap-around it gets old. i’m a kings fan but why should
the planet be deprived of seeing a flyers-rangers final
if that’s how it plays out?
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8ball,
If we played by your overall scenario, Philly and Montreal wouldn’t even have made it in, and only 6 Eastern conferance teams would have made it to the playoffs. That would of deprived us of seeing Montreal and Philly take out some great teams, and considering Philly made it all the way to the finals as an 18th seed would never have happened. I do agree that we see some teams too many times during the season, but I want to see the Ducks, and Dallas this season, because I think we’ll fair really well against them.
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8ball Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Dominick
by the way i don’t use the@ somebody icon anymore. it looks like an attack and that’s not
what it is.just looking for reason.would be fun
for any team’s fans to see Crosby before he
retires. i mean-is that fair?they got 1500 mile
air-tickets for dummies like us for 50 bucks.
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Dominick Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
8ball,
Yea, I would love to see more east coast teams on the schedule, but I think we’d pay for it with some long roadtrips out of our time zone. I was lucky enough to see Crosby play in person once. Too bad I don’t get to see him a couple of times a month.
I didn’t use th @ because this site has been having technical difficulties. Sometimes I click on the comments and it puts me on the RSS feed.It won’t let me reply unless I start a new comment.
If I can remember, I’ll leave out the @ icon next time I reply to your comments.
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Dan H. Reply:
September 27th, 2010 at 10:53 am
@Dominick,
The RSS feed happens to me all the time. I was hoping they’d fix that before the season started since they had all summer to work on it but…guess not.
8ball Reply:
September 27th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
@Dominick,
8ball Reply:
September 27th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
dominick
nah,the @’s from others don’t bother me i just don’t care for the {mostly} infrequent
bickering{sp?} that seems to start with @.
if i’m not mistaken our veteran centers are
right-hand shooters.what about loki? i’m up
here in the sticks and all i have is tv.
“Because it was kind of a surprise to me that he was out there”
Are you kidding me? Terry actually has no idea about the progression of the players on IR? I find that hard to believe. Quite the bs and lay it down, Terry. You look like an ass every time you use the excuse for not knowing your players.
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threepwood Reply:
September 25th, 2010 at 11:56 pm
@Jorgen,
Lighten up Francis.
Are you a team doctor? Have you examined the hand?
It may or may not occur to you that professional athletes who are about to lose their roster spot have an uncanny ability to ‘heal’ faster than most humans.
Maybe EE was supposed to miss 10 days and only missed 5 because he sees the writing on the wall.
That would qualify as a surprise, no?
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I do feel bad for Iceberg….He’s a good goalie and deserves a fair shot. Bad luck and timing that the Kings are all of a sudden stacked in goal, particularly when there’s a glut of good goalies in the NHL. I’d hate to see him return to Sweden or the KHL, likewise he’s too good to send down to Manchester and the Kings need to play Zatkoff this season.
Tough break all around, the best to EE. He’s done the Kings well.
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DougS Reply:
September 25th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
@Moondoggie,
That is the flip side of having a GM with a knack for judging talent and character: You accumulate more capable players than you can use, and because they’re good Joes, you hate to see someone be the odd man out.
I agree that Ersberg deserves better. But OTOH, it’s good for the Kings that they have talent in surplus, so that someone of his caliber is expendable.
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Moondoggie Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 3:04 am
@DougS, True. It would be good to see him go to Manchester but then what do you do with Zatkoff? There is a real bottleneck with the Kings goalies. DL could always trade him but honestly, after years of goalie issues, I’d feel more comfortable having EE backing up Bernier & Quick in case one goes down.
My guess, DL will probably trade Ersberg for a mid to low level draft pick. It’s really too bad, he deserves better but like you said, this is the end result of having a GM & staff who can truly evaluate young talent.
Of course, if EE’s hand doesn’t get better, there’s always the good ol IR….
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jayhay Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 10:06 am
@Moondoggie,
for EE’s sake, it was the wrong goalie to start the pre-season flat. JB has been solid so far. maybe NASH or maybe MIN (although i think they got a kid named Khodobin that’ll be their #2). i really think EE is Europe bound.
i guess i dont have an answer for who would back-up Zatkoff, but wouldn’t M. Jones be better served playing most of the games for Ontario this year? seems to me, but if thats the question i pose, then things are pretty good.
jet Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
@Moondoggie, hey moondoggie, I was just wondering when was the last time you used Kings goalies and bottleneck in the same sentence.
Moondoggie Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
@jayhay, Unless I’m mistaken, Jonsey heads back to Calgary, he’s only 20.
Dominick Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
jet,
Ha Ha, I don’t think those 3 words have ever been used in the same sentence by any Kingsfan, ever! Feels good though “There is a real bottleneck with the Kings goalies” Just kinda rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
The last team of any kind to win a championship solely with homegrown talent was the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers. With our current core, and the way our prospects have risen to the challenge, and if that trend continues, I dont see why the Kings can’t be the next team to achieve that feat. Our NHL core is young, so far our draftees are excelling, and if the next wave, ie., Forbort, Deslauriers, Vey, Toffoli, Weal, Gravel, Kozun etc., live up to their potential (as most are slotted for the Canadian Nat. Jrs.), why the hell not? Yeah, this is ambitious, I know. But after 32yrs of hopelessness, I am giddy as hell. Plus, every organ-eye-zation needs to shoot for the moon!
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jet Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
@MIKEY3sfv, How about the Oilers in any of those ’80 years?
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Call me selfish but, as much as I feel for E.E., I do hope we see J.B. at Frozen Fury (next game I have Tix for and my friends first Kings game). Hope E.E is well enough to play vs the Sucks. We really need to settle this #2 goalie issue as soon as we can. At least we know who will start the home opener next month (ok 97% sure).
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uh…this is when you TRADE players.
Package Ersberg with any of the 15 mediocer players we have, and get a solid 30 GOAL SCORER!!!
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regulate Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 7:26 am
@Jeff,
I’m sure teams are just dying to give up their 30 goal scorers for a back up goalie and an average player. Do it Deano!
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USHA#17 Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 11:55 am
@regulate, To bad Rattis isn’t around to sweeten the deal!
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jet Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
@USHA#17, or Tom Preissing
Moondoggie Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
@regulate, Get er done!
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Sean Avery vs Clarkson vs Kovi….preseason action from last night. I wish Avery broke Kovi’s nose!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn_w30xJ4Yg
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Since '67 Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 9:04 am
@Cry Baby, Avery would have to know how to fight for that to happen. He only likes to fight minis or not known fighters. He sure put on a skirt when Clarkson was ready to go. This isn’t because I’m sticking up for Kovalchuk either, and do appreciate you providing the video. Like to see things already heating up in preseason. GKG!
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Cry Baby Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 9:46 am
@Since ’67, Avery fights fine and has held his own more than enough times against other middle weights. You say put the skirt on by not fighting Clarkson but really Avery was doing exactly what would irritate him the most. Then he gets into it with Kovi….that was smart. If Kovi breaks is hand of something lame like that, what then. Avery can be very efficient at getting people off their game!
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Since '67 Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 11:43 am
@Cry Baby, …including his own teamates!
Dominick Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 9:18 am
@Cry Baby,
That’s what I loved about super pest Avery. Too bad he can’t control his mouth away from the game. His hit was clean, maybe boarderline late. The refs realized that it was Avery and even though he wasn’t dropping the gloves, the refs let Clarkson try to grab at the guy.
Then Kovi jumps in and starts swinging. Clarkson tries to go with him again, and Avery ends up taking Clarkson, and Kovi off the ice with him.
The refs are totally guilty of letting that get out of hand, by not stepping in and breaking it up before it even started, but the Devils are the real suckers for letting Avery draw them into penalties.
I think it’s absolutely hilarious how, over the years, Avery has become Kovi’s cryptonite. If they meet in the 1rst round of the playoffs, Kovi’s finnished.
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USHA#17 Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
@Cry Baby,
There may need to be an Avery Rule as it appears Avery seems to be agreeing to drop his gloves then backs off without doing so, leaving the other player exposed.
That or players need to start punching Avery with their gloves on, first.
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TSN has Kings winning the division. Can the Kings handle the high expectations?
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jayhay Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 10:39 am
@BluLiner,
i have the Kings winning the division
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Moondoggie Reply:
September 26th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
@jayhay, I actually have them winning the cup but there again, I’ve had them winning the cup for 42 years…..
I’d like to see the link tho…I couldn’t find anything on TSN.
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BluLiner Reply:
September 27th, 2010 at 7:15 am
@Moondoggie,
http://www.tsn.ca
jet Reply:
September 27th, 2010 at 8:29 am
@Moondoggie, he is going by deduction – http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=29184
I think they are ranking as post playoffs and not pre plsyoffs
Even TSN canada.Nice ,about time we go that kind of respect.The rest of the division weakened just little i think,but the kings ready for futher improvement i beleive.
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I really could see EE going somewhere and givin a chance and actually prove himself. I thought he was fine last year. We played him against the sharks and he would only give up one goal. He did his part when he played but the rest of the team didn’t. He will be of worth to someone. I love EE :p
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send ersberg to MINN for a pick…haha..
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EE is a good goalie and even better person, i know because i got to know him a lil bit in Manchester when he was on the Monarchs .. to be honest he was not all that memorable for his play on the ice back then , he didnt really shine until he got to the NHL, that is no knock on him because some goalies, forwards , defensemen etc are so so in the minors but come into their own in the show. I hope that EE… if he is not on the Kings is either cut loose to give him a chance to latch on with another NHL team sooner than later before rosters are filled out or the Kings find him playing time in Europe.. If he does somehow beat out Bernier however unlikely i hope that he plays a lot of meaningful minutes .. He has been calm , not complained and been the good soldier , he deserves no less.
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