Jonathan Quick will start in goal for the Kings tonight against St. Louis, and Kevin Westgarth will fill the fourth-line right-wing spot in place of Brad Richardson. Terry Murray indicated that his goalie plan for the final 12 games will primarily involve Quick, but Murray also had strong praise for Jonathan Bernier’s recent efforts. More on this, and other notes and quotes, to come…
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I would imagine Bernier would get the start against the Oilers on the 29th, and one of the back to back games to close out the year vs the Ducks
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FM3 Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:10 am
@Newf, You have to get Bernier into the mix somewhere down the stretch so the Oilers would be the logical thing to do. I also think that it will depend on what the standings are coming into the last 2 against the Ducks. If we are sitting good in a playoff position, then J1 & J2 split the games, no matter whether its a chance to knock the Ducks out of the playoffs or not. If it means we need the best shot at wins to get in the playoffs Quicker gets both games.
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DesertKing Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:27 am
@FM3,
I agree with you, but I also think he may throw Bernier in against the Avs. If JB handles the EDM and Avs games, JQ would get 9 days of rest following the SJS game and going into the Dallas game. Not sure if TM would want him to rest that long, but after that JQ would have 5 games in 8 days to finish out the season and get tuned up for the play-offs.
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Zeley Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:39 am
@DesertKing, There’s also a Vancouver game on March 31
luc20rules Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
@FM3, TM likes to play the numbers and even though he lost the last one to Dallas in OT. He has been very successful vs. them. So I think Bernie’s record verse teams will play into things as well.
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Capt Jam Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:12 am
@Newf,
Considering TM changes plans on a whim, I think I’m just gonna take it on a game-by-game basis and hope the best goalie is in net for us. Tonight, we’re good.
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KingsFan in OC Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:19 am
@Newf, I think JB will get the Oilers and the Avs. Both games against the Ducks could prove critical for them and us. Plus, Quick will have the better part of a week to rest up, so playing him in back to back games won’t be that big of a deal.
I am really praying it comes down to those two games as to whether or not the Quacks make the postseason. Would be great to face them in the playoffs, but it might just be a little sweeter to be the cause of them just missing out!
GO KINGS!!! Looking forward to welcoming the boys home from another stellar road trip!
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Looking forward to seeing the green sweaters during the pre-game skate. Ok, I’m not. I hope I don’t have any California Golden Seals flashbacks.
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DesertKing Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:28 am
@Capt Jam,
Reminds me of the Celtics. If it wasn’t for charity, I would say get rid of it.
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KingsGuy Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
@DesertKing, I agree, not a fan of that green AT ALL. But seeming as it’s St. Patricks Day and the proceeds are going to help releif efforts in Japan, I’m for it.
Lets make sure these guys are singing the blues on their way up to San Jose…
GKG
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DesertKing Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
@KingsGuy,
Its kind of crazy, rooting for th eBlues last, hating them tonight and then rooting for them agian in a couple of days. I need some Xanax!
jet Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
@KingsGuy, you are not alone, the last two games, have my neighbors believing I am bipolar. All they hear is NO, NO, NO, quickly followed by TWS, YES, YES. Sorry for screaming Rich.
KC23 Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
@Capt Jam, Nah, their skates will still be black.
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JQ should have another solid game. Really nice to have two goalies playing well at this time of year.
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Remaining games:
Blues, Ducks, Flames, Sharks, Avalanche, Oilers, Canucks, Stars, Sharks, Coyotes, Ducks, Ducks.
12 games remaining. Bernier plays 4, Quick plays 8?
In the Johnathans I trust!
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:21 am
@Kostamojen, Beriner play 6 Quick will play 6
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:33 am
@Kostamojen, Quick plays nine or ten. Bernier plays the Ducks once and probably the OIlers, plus maybe one other game.
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kozak Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:34 am
@Kostamojen, Quick plays at least 9 more games. Bernier fills in the rest
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16,005 Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
@Kostamojen,
In J1 and J2 I trust as well… J1 gets 9, and J2 gets Flames, Oilers, and Coyotes.
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I say keep the rotation all the way up to the playoffs. Not only helps build confidence, lets the goalies rest between games, but builds confidence for the team playing in front of them.
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:36 am
@kingme81, yea that what we need is confidence and its working
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KFII Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:55 am
@kingme81, I agree, that way neither one of them can get rusty or tired, plus they both get to contribute to the team right up until the playoffs.
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I wouldn’t think with St. Louis being so far out of it that Murray would enlist the services of KW tonight. Sure, the Blues are playing for pride and they’re a physical team. But should this preclude giving Richie more games in the lead up to the post season? What I’m trying to say is that perhaps we will see Westgarth in the playoffs more than I thought was likely. Which is to say at all.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:20 am
@wavesinair, please god no! KW is a King so i cant hate the guy but i feel we are in no need of his services period let alone this time of year. Ive heard all the arguments to have KW in the lineup and i do not agree with one of them. As long as he can continue not to be a liability than i guess i really dont care but i feel Richie brings so much more and its a shame IMO to bench him for KW for any reason!
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Michael J. Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:56 am
@BrokeKingsFan,
Do you agree with what TM and Jim Fox said about the other guys saying that they like having him in the lineup against other teams that might try to take advantage of them?
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
@Michael J., I might agree that it was said but I personaly think thats stupid! down below i touched on it in a reply to Jonsey about them having confidence with Westy in the lineup. ill copy it here for you.
@jonsey, If they dont play with confidence if he isnt in there then they should not be professional athletes. I realize that was said not to long ago about confidence with KW in there and thats why you bring it up but one guys presence on the bench should not alter the way you play your game IMO and if that is the case then Westy should play EVERY GAME regardless. These guys are in good shape and are not panzies and if they are scared of some rough and tough play then should have played golf for a living.
KingsGuy Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
@Michael J., “Westgarth” brings something to the team that obviously the team likes… Maybe we can’t see it – I dunno. I like watching Westy throw down…Then he claps his hands on the way over to the bench. However, Richie does seem to have some good talent and gettiing to those lose pucks for turnovers.
I seriously don’t see a noticeable difference in our overall game with either guy. It’s a 4th liner. One brings some heavy hands and one brings some stick handeling skills.
jet Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, I respectfully disagree. This is teh time of the season when you have players lookig to make some kind of impact. The last thing we need is for that impact to be a cheapshot on one of our skill players.
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Choralone Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:24 am
@wavesinair, Well, I thought for sure I would have seen the Westgarth complaint posts appear earlier in the comments – 9th is better than I expected.
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jayhay Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:37 am
@Choralone, outside media talking Kings. 4 game winning streak on the road. 2 young goalies playing very well. everyone is very blissful right now. even when it comes to Westgarth. soak it up.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
@Choralone, I just didnt get to the site early enough
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mrbrett7 Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
@wavesinair, No…it’s all about St. Louis and their style of play. Don’t make this into more than it isn’t.
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spidey35 Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
@wavesinair,
Aren’t we also at that point of the year when you don’t really think to much of the enforcer role and more of the team that’s got the best chance of getting you a win? I would think with Clifford and Simmonds in the line-up that would be good enough. IMHO
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Slim Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
@spidey35, If you watched the Ducks game last night
you would have seen big Backes run people..Also don’t
want to take a chance on Simmonds or Cliffy getting
hurt at this time of year..Westy playing makes sense to me…
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spidey35 Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
@Slim,
I did not watch the game last night. Was Parros in the line-up and if so, did anyone drop the gloves with Backes?
Nice to see,we have winning goalies after bad years…team plays better cause they trust “last lock”!
GOOOO KINGS GOOO!
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No fan of Westgarth but if they come out with the win all that matters. Fire it up boyz take it to em!!!
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:37 am
@Hat trick, yea Blue lost against Ducks last night so they might come at us with all they got
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jet Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
@Hat trick, not really, coming out with 19 healthy bodies is more important.
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Knock on wood we haven’t had any serious injuries this year. Yeah we lost Doughty for a few games, but Kopitar, Williams, Smyth, Quick, Brown, Stoll, etc. have all been healthy. Sorry Parse, we’ll see you next year. A great time to head into the playoffs. PIT is without Malkin AND Crosby. We’re playing well and have our best lineup ready. If Westgarth makes them play with confidence, then I don’t care if he plays.
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:38 am
@jonsey, yea but we dont have to worry about east teams into we get to the Stanley Cup Finals if that happens still possible but u neve rknow into the playoffs starts
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:42 am
@jonsey, If they dont play with confidence if he isnt in there then they should not be professional athletes. I realize that was said not to long ago about confidence with KW in there and thats why you bring it up but one guys presence on the bench should not alter the way you play your game IMO and if that is the case then Westy should play EVERY GAME regardless. These guys are in good shape and are not panzies and if they are scared of some rough and tough play then should have played golf for a living.
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BluLiner Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, If Westgarth prevents any Blues thugs from even one cheapshot check, then he is worth having on the bench. I dont want to see any Kings player knocked out of the game or game(s) due to such an injury this close to the playoffs.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
@BluLiner, name me one time that has been the case ( were KW prevented a cheap shot). you cant enforce/ prevent squat if your not in the ice. If its a legal hit and doesnt draw a penalty then its not a cheap shot by any means and I think i can remeber a game (cant remeber the team off the top of my head) were Kopi was run through while KW was in his usual spot on the bench. Didnt do much for us there!
BluLiner Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
@BluLiner, you’ve made my point, KW plays, no cheapshots, no injuries.
I remember the game your referring to – Shea Weber on Kopitar. But it was not a cheapshot.
Michael J. Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
I think they said that they felt more secure, or maybe “more” confident. Neither of us has been out on the ice against other players that are as fast, strong, or tough as the Kings play against.
Your statement: “If they dont play with confidence if he isnt in there then they should not be professional athletes.” sounds a bit misguided. I am sure that just about everyone who has ever had a job, a difficult job, has a time or two when their confidence dips a little. I hope that you are not questioning the character of the Kings players.
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KW in the lineup means Simmmer and/or Brown get doubleshifted in the third.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 11:53 am
@Capt Jam, do you feel thats a good thing? Thats a true statement you made and im just wondering how you feel about it.
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Capt Jam Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
I do, in the sense that I’d rather have Brown or Simmer out there instead of KW. But I’d prefer to have Richie out there and not have this be an issue.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
@Capt Jam, right on! I agree with ya
Back to back 40 win seasons 1st time ever. Quick on his way to back 40 win seasons first time ever. DL is truly a franchise building master
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
@Kings x, He has done a Phenominal job thats for sure!
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I think our best shot at a cup will be if we can overtake SJ and Dallas can catch Chicago.
That would likely put our cup run through Dallas->Detroit->Vancouver.
Van is the only really scary thing in there, and if we hit them in the conference finals this time, where both teams have playoff momentum, hooo boy!
If it shakes down this way, and we manage to upset VAN, I can’t see any teams in the east where we won’t have at least a fair fight for the cup.
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Go Kings Go
this is a very tired team and they got nothing to loose for now and they beat us 3 times want to go to a perfect on us
So lets hope we win todays game
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vplaza Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
@KingsFanFTW,
That’s the worry, a letdown against a team that they should beat. Kinda like the other times they played against the Blues this year.
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Hey Rich, any pics of the Green jerseys in practice today?
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Hooray! With news that the Sacramento Kings will be named the Royals, this means these Kings will now be the only ones!
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nofreight Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
@DodgersKings323, nice! best post of the day
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puddle Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
@DodgersKings323, That’s IF they move. But yes, if the Sacramento Kings move to Anaheim, they’ll most likely be the Anaheim Royals… which means I can add another Anaheim team to my list of teams to hate!
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Not a Westgarth fan, dress the whole family….I don’t care and what we complain about doesn’t matter to TM, at some point these types of decisions will cost him his job, Coaches are hired to be fired!!!!!
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neil Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
@Harty, after every game….give the coach a grade!!!!!!!
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Stuart Reply:
March 17th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
@Harty, so by your rationale if it wasn’t “these” types of decisions, he’d end up getting fired for some other “types”? Sounds like saying everyone who lives will die. Or people will “at some point [die] these types” of deaths, people are born to die. DUH!
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