Keeping it quiet

Jonathan Bernier will get his second start of the season in goal tonight, and Jonathan Quick’s great start — three goals allowed in nine periods — has quieted any talk of a goalie “controversy.” Other than Quick, nobody is happier about that than Terry Murray, who has been able to stay on script and not face questions about altering his goalie plan. Murray has talked about not having a “competition,” in terms of the goalies, but more accurately, what he means is that he doesn’t want acrimony. As a coach, you should always want your players to be competitive and push each other to be better, but only in a constructive way. If jealousy and bitterness develop, that’s bad for everyone, so Murray’s focus has been on trying to keep his goalies on the same page. So far, so good, it seems.

MURRAY: “I’ve had meetings with the goaltenders about that, and I’ve certainly been talking about it quite a bit. The comfort, for me, is that Jonathan Bernier knows that Quick is the No. 1 guy. They’re here to work together, to play for the L.A. Kings and help us win hockey games. So there’s a clear understanding on that, and as we move forward, it’s going to be Quick playing the majority of the games. I’m not looking for competition. I’m looking for support. I’m looking for working as a group and as a pair to hep the hockey team be a good hockey club. So I’m not concerned about that. They’re good people, a lot of character in the locker room, good, solid guys with great leadership, and we’ll just keep moving forward as a hockey club.”