Terry Murray’s preseason declaration, that he would seek to play backup goalie Jonathan Bernier at least once a week, will now be put to the test. Of course, Murray gave himself some wiggle room a few days ago when he said that he would consider re-evaluating the goalie plan that he had “penciled in” during the summer. Bernier has started seven of the Kings’ 21 games this season, but it’s no stretch to think that Jonathan Quick could start each of the next 12 or 13 games. The Kings don’t play back-to-back games again until Dec. 26-27. Between now and then, there are three stretches when the Kings have two days off before a game and one stretch in which the Kings have have four days off between games. Starting tomorrow against Chicago, they play 12 games in a span of 29 days, not exactly a daunting schedule (although five of those games are part of a Midwest road trip). I asked Murray this morning about the schedule, and whether it might present him the opportunity to ride one goalie for a while…
MURRAY: “Yes, it does. It does look that way, absolutely. I don’t have a plan in that sense. Quicker is going to play tomorrow. Certainly the option, with the scheduling right now, is that I could put him in and not have any concerns about over-using him in that position. So we’ll see how it plays out.”
We need to see quite a bit more of JQ right now.
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Harty Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
@Belexes,
QUICK PLAYS EVERY GAME TILL THIS THING GETS BACK ON TRACK, PERIOD. SORRY BERNIER YOU WILL BE FANTASTIC HOWEVER RIGHT NOW ITS TIME TO WATCH….
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i have to say that i feel a whole lot better when Quick is in net! Bernier has not been getting the Defensive effort that any goalie deserves but he is still letting in goals that should be stopped. I hope TM sticks to his plan and continues to give bernier his starts but man,he really needs to pick up his game or else…….
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
“but man,he really needs to pick up his game or else…….”
Or what, he won’t be the Messiah anymore? LOL
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DetroitSons1952 Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 9:28 am
@BrokeKingsFan, It’s the same team that’s playing in front of Quick, Bernier needs to get more athletic and not so mechanical. Also, when you have been deemed an NHL goaltender, players figure you should be good enough to take care of most of their mistakes.
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USHA#17 Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 11:00 am
@BrokeKingsFan,
The real difference? Controlling rebounds. Quick has. Bernier has not.
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can we send JB to Manch for conditioning without exposing him to waivers? If so, maybe we should try it? Maybe this will help him regain confidence & rhythm. JB has not really played in any consistent games since last season!
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AZ King Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
@Coach,
Confidence maybe, but I don’t think conditioning is JB’s problem. Sending him to Manch doesn’t solve JB’s two biggest issues: getting used to playing part time, and dealing with the NHL style traffic in front of his net.
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Rich: – “Hey Coach, about the schedule, does it present you the opportunity to ride one goalie for a while?”
TM thinks for a moment to himself: – “Hmmm, this guy seems to always come up with some pretty good ideas for me”
TM: – Yes, it does. It does look that way, absolutely. I don’t have a plan in that sense. Quicker is going to play tomorrow. Certainly the option, with the scheduling right now, is that I could put him in and not have any concerns about over-using him in that position. So we’ll see how it plays out.”
TM then walks away quickly to jot down his new idea….
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AZ King Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
@Belexes,
Maybe Rich should do some more articles about the PP.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
@AZ King,
Rich would have to do a LOT of articles on the PP!!!
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Kyle Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
@AZ King, Maybe he should talk about the fact that there is a guy on the team who has no business being on any NHL sheet of ice. Westgarth needs a new home. Its is just amazing that he could be getting paid to do what he does (or doesn’t do)!
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AZ King Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
@Kyle,
In all fairness I’d like to see you out there trying do what Westagarth does (or as you say doesn’t do).
DetroitSons1952 Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 9:32 am
@Kyle, In all fairness to AZKing, I’d much rather have MARTY McSORELY type player then Ironhands.
Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
@Belexes,
Rich is doing that Jedi Mind Trick thing on TM.
It’s working.
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Quick is the @#$%!!!!!!
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Shakes Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Quick is a series of alphanumeric characters.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
@Shakes, i would have typed the actual word but im not sure it would have made it through the filter.
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Its interesting to see all the people before the season started bagging on Quick and praying JB gets the majority of games now all those people are bagging on JB and praising Quick. Glad to see Quick making all those people eat some crow
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Things can change….what happens if Quick goes into a slump…it can happen..That why i always say….one game at a time….
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Sancho Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
@neil, Yep, I agree…one game at a time w/o JB. Bernier blows, right now. Numbers don’t lie…Until those numbers improve, play JQ as much as possible! This is MHO…nothing more, and it’s worth just as much as yours…squat.
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No matter who is in net, the entire team’s game needs to improve or JQ will be the one getting dragged through the muck.
Dump the puck in deep and hammer the opposition’s defense. TM needs to get the boys back to this basic tenet of his philosophy.
Create turnovers.
Drive the net.
Shoot the puck.
Win the small battles.
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Harty Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
@Cristobal, great advice, well said…..as a long time coach well scribed
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Common Sense Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
@Cristobal,
Agreed. Also do your job and stop worrying about trying to do someone elses.
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I think one of JB biggest problems is dealing with NHL level traffic. Being such a position goalie and not moving a lot once he gets set might be working against him. It’s not letting him get out in front of those screens to see the shot. Yes the defenders need to clear out traffic, but he needs to fight through those screens, otherwise guys like Holmstrom re going to eat him alive.
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I wonder if Bernier would benefit from a conditioning assignment to manchester.
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AZ King Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
@mcsorleyfan,
I you want, take a look at responce to this up above. I really don’t think sending him to Manch would address the issues that JB is having.
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
@AZ King, yeah, just caught up with that; good point. Seeing more pucks for 2 weeks may do a world of good for the next 2 weeks, then what? Until he learns to adapt to working part-time, this may be what it looks like. Imagine missing EE…
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Common Sense Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
@mcsorleyfan,
Bernier needs to remain and see more NHL-quality rubber. Quick needs to play a few in a row to right the ship, Bernier needs to work on his game just like JQ did last year with the big club. There should be no pressure now for Bernier to have to perform to prove himself to all of you people that wanted to anoint him #1 in this preseason. So chill out and let Bernier learn his craft at the NHL level, he won’t benefit from another stint in the AHL.
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I thought the whole point of having Bernier up is to not burn Quick out again? The entire team has been absolutely atrocious in front of both goalies, so we retreat back to our old ways in hopes of what? Stumbling into the playoffs with a tired, burned out goalie? I think simply shoving a majority of games at Quick, is a step backwards, which we have been taking many of lately. In my opinion, Terry Murray has been making much more poor decisions than good ones lately, and I think he’s a very good coach. As far as our bantam level powerplay, and our lack of a true scorer; sometimes no decision, is the wrong decision. Time to get proactive and make some moves that show we want to be a winner.
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408kingsfan Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
@Nyck, Yeah pucks dancing around in the low slot with elite players from opposing teams pouncing on them everytime would make goalies like Osgood and Patrick Roy look bad
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backchecker Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
@Nyck,
Yes and what it shows mostly this team is desperate and grasping
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8ball Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
@Nyck, tough to figure.no one thing.
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bmova Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
@Nyck, If Quick plays every other day, he’s not going to be burnt out. He was out of it last year b/c he was playing both games in back to backs. The next few weeks, as Rich said, the Kings have at least a day or two between games.
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yes i would like some Quik with my milk, please.
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JB not that Great but he needs to improve or then we never going to have a good Goalies Quick the Man yea but how long can Quick do it he going to get tried out again then we going to get the boot again if JB picks up his game Quick wouldnt have to worry about it but come on JB the puck right in front of u and u cant really save the puck got to know how to use ur skills or u never going to make it i know he will get better in the net as the season but its been been 7 games with him in the net i believe and only one two out of them
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Bottom line. Quick is playing significantly better than Bernier so I can understand if TM plays the better goalie at least until we get back on track.
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Ride Quick? I can see why, but it’s happening…again. I hope this has a better ending.
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hope we are not getting into ego-related issues here.
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I haven’t actually been watching, so much as listening to the games…..does it come off that the team plays less for JB than they do for JQ?
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DetroitSons1952 Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 9:39 am
@IIShort, No, they play the same way in front of JQ, this season the “D” isn’t as tight as it was in front of JB as it was the 3 games he played last season. He’s supposed to be NHL ready and he isn’t.
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if TM and quick can come to some sort of agreement together, behind closed doors, to be honest with each other, the following might work for everyone…ride quick until he says he needs a break. now im not naive, i know these guys want to play every day. and even though last year quick was saying he felt good all season, i assure you, he was overwhelmed. but an NHL player will never admit that, especially in public. so here’s my suggestion…if TM and Quick can sit down and be honest and agree that quick can put his pride aside for the team and admit when he wants to sit a game or two, we might be able to get away with giving him a lot of games without burning him out. i know this is high unlikely, but i thought i’d share anyway.
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Young goaltenders seem to excel at the NHL level when they are called up mid season AFTER they have played a ton of games, seen a ton of shots and have some type of rhythm going.
In fairness to JB, I don’t think the team has played well in front of him in the majority of games he’s played. Its also very obvious he is not the same player we saw last season….little or no confidence right now. Not easy coming to the NHL with little or no experience and playing once a week. It’s much easier for a veteran to fill this roll.
Unfortunately for JB he is going to have to play through this if he is going to have a future with the Kings. I don’t see the Kings sending him back down or holding on to him for too long only to watch is stock drop. He is probably going to be one hell of a goaltender but with one very big road block in is way…Jonathan Quick who only seems to be getting better and better.
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USHA#17 Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 11:02 am
@Barry’s Mullet,
I think your right about playing time but, again, one goalie has controlled rebounds, the other hasn’t.
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Barry's Mullet Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
@USHA#17, Is it the chicken or the egg? You make my point. One goaltender, JQ is playing the majority of games and is playing well. JB on the other hand has little or no NHL experience and is struggling and losing confidence with every game. If it was reverse and JB was playing the majority of games his mechanics would be better, i.e. controlling rebounds and would only be struggling due to is lack of NHL experience. Lack of experience and confidence is not easy to fix playing once a week which TM has hinted will soon become twice a month. We’ll soon find out how good JB really is…or will we?
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