It was a considerably busy optional morning skate at the Toyota Sports Center as 12 skaters and both goaltenders took the ice in advance of tonight’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Jonathan Bernier left the ice first, which indicates that he has been tabbed as the starting goaltender to conclude the back-to-back set. In his last start, Bernier stopped 20-of-22 shots in a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.
Overall, Bernier is 6-2-0 with a 1.94 goals against average and .916 save percentage. Both of his losses came in relief.
I’ll have some penalty killing insight from Trevor Lewis and quotes from Darryl Sutter on the blog later this morning.
Trainer – Mike, c’mon buddy, I need you to talk to me!
Smith – AAAAAH! Kings everywhere, I can’t stop them!
Trainer – C’mon Mike, stay with me, hang in there!
Smith – No, no, what do we do, the Kings, the Kings……
Trainer – Mike, focus, focus on me.
Smith – When I focus, all I see are crowns, crowns and pucks, pucks going past me!
Trainer – We can work on this, but its got to be together.
Smith – Work? Work doesn’t stop a Kopitar, it doesn’t stop a Carter. My god, it couldn’t even stop two AHL rookies! I got scored on by a virgin!
Trainer – Mike, look at me, how many fingers am I holding up?
Smith – I can’t see any! All I see are pucks, and more pucks.
Trainer – You did your best Mike.
Smith – I did everything I could. I dived. I knocked the net off its moorings. I even speared one in the groin, but they couldn’t be stopped!
Trainer – Ok Mike, lets go find a quiet place, ok buddy?
Smith – Yea, a quiet place with unicorns, and rainbows, and fluffy bunnies, and cupcakes with hearts on them and ……. AAAAAAAAH! Will Ferrell! AAAAAAAH!
Trainer – Mike, pull yourself together!!!
Smith – Water bottle exploding off the net!! AAAAAH!!!!
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shiny Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:45 am
@DesertKing, Trainer- OK, I think he’s done now. Better start LaBarbera tomorrow and hope he doesn’t do a s***y job
Smith- I’m going to see Barbara Walters tomorrow? Did I win the Vezina?
Trainer- yup, good job buddy. You did it
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KC23 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:51 am
@shiny, LaBarbera looked a heck of a lot sharper than Smith did last night.
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shiny Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:58 am
@KC23, but he’s not a very consistent goalie. Don’t know who’s been in goal for but Tippet has to seriously consider some things after 3 straight shut outs
luc20rules Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:59 am
@KC23, Kings stopped crashing the net as hard with a 4 goal lead. Started playing high some for better D coverage.
shiny Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:59 am
@KC23, for Phoenix* apparently I’m still asleep…
britney! Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:17 am
@DesertKing, quite possibly the best thing I have ever read. Side hurts from laughing. Thank you!
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Budsintl Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 12:16 pm
@DesertKing, Why can’t I get scored on by a virgin
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HockeyNerd Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 12:46 pm
@DesertKing,
Trainer:Mike, put that stick down and let’s talk!
Smith:He’s in my Goal crease! I gotta slash him!
Trainer:Games over Mike. Put it down, and go shake hands.
Smith:No. Bad Richards! Bad! I’m gonna slash him….
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gailweb Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 1:40 pm
@DesertKing, Too funny Desert, thanks so very much!
Go Kings Go!
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DS good call go with the back up on back to back to not stress the goalies to much in this condensed season.
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shiny Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:43 am
@luc20rules, agreed
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puck73 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:47 am
@luc20rules, We talked about this subject in Suite C-3 last night with @Jeff_R and all of us agree on this totally. I have never been a fan of playing goalies on consecutives nights, and never will be. I believe it maybe the most taxing position in sports and asking a goalie to go on back to back nights quite often doesnt end up well.
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KC23 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:52 am
@puck73, Yeah, I’m glad DS isn’t pig headed about it. He learned his lesson from last week apparently.
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luc20rules Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:57 am
@puck73, Yep, had a great time like always. Also a shout out to “One Timer” James, @Duncanz & @Dominick that were out by the Gretzky statue after the game.
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Duncanz Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:07 am
@look20miles, That’s ‘Hockey Bubblez’ to you!
Duncanz Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:10 am
@luc20rules, What about the ‘Justin Williams’ ring that was holding on to @Subby like he was a trophy?!!
Jeff_R Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:24 am
@puck73, Not even screaming SHUTOUT< SHUTOUT< SHUTOUT over and over could rattle Quick. But glad DS came to his senses and did the right thing, before your head exploded Mike
.
Oh and THANKS for the ticket last night. Had a great time with you and @luc20rules.
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puck73 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:27 am
@Jeff_R, Your welcome Kings fan.
Shakes Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:56 am
@puck73, i think in normal years it’s easier to play the same goalie on a back-to-back situation because more often than not you may “only” be playing 3 games in the week… i.e. you’ll have chance to recover properly. plus resting a goalie means he may not see game action for 4 or 5 days. This season you’re basically playing an extra game every week (and this month is generally worse for most teams) and you never get an extra few days to rest.
For Quick who is still getting healthier and healther i would probably argue that sitting on a back-to-back after a hot game (like Quick had yesterday) doesn’t lead to as much rust this season as it would in a normal season. Of course i’m just guessing, only Quick & Bernier would know the answer and only Ranford would likely give the true answer
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 4:09 pm
@Shakes, Put it this way…if a goaltender doesn’t get rusty from having a couple nights off because there are no games played, that same goaltender isn’t gonna get rusty because the backup played one of the nights in a back-to-back situation. That would be all psychological (which, I guess applies to nutcase goaltenders–glad we don’t have those, since they’re so common.) I’d expect a goaltender to do just fine as long as there aren’t any more than about three off days between games.
6-0 when Bernier starts….Go Kings!
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“UGGH, THE REIGNING CONN SMYTHE TROPHY WINNER back up, AGAIN? BLECCH”
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Duncanz Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:12 am
@Less Goaliest, THIS PROVES HE IS SLIDING DOWN the goalie DEPTH CHART!
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linny Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 7:09 pm
@Duncanz, I heard DL is going to bring up Gibson because he loves reading “Insider” comments about the goalies..n screwing with us. If he does he automatically gets an A+
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PRMan Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
@Lake Forest, Look, I don’t want to be one of those “What have you done for me lately?” guys, but it won’t kill us to give him a rest in a back-to-back with another game on Thursday. Especially if the guy you’re bringing in is Bernier.
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Speaking of goalies I was at the game so I didn’t get any audio on Mike Smith’s delay in the later part of the 1st. Was he just stalling, going to bench to get his slashing stick, having his bra adjusted, or all the above?
Congrats, Tyler Toffoli an excellent 1st goal like a sniper he went straight to the top of the net and took out Smith’s water bottle.
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Purple and Gold Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:52 am
@luc20rules, It appeared as if one of the suspenders broke, Foxy noted that a goalie has to ask the ref to go to the bench for equipment malfunction to prevent stalling. A ref was standing there watching the fix so I don’t think there was any stalling on purpose.
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KC23 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:53 am
@Purple and Gold, Agreed, and it really wasn’t a momentum killing thing any way. Did take a while though.
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shiny Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:02 am
@KC23, fans at the game figured he was doing it on purpose but we don’t get color commentary so we don’t know what’s happening unless we check twitter or something
jet Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:24 am
@Purple and Gold, if you are on the PK, why would you want to stop in the middle, to rest up the PP’s best line? Something must have been broken.
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fsd1 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:09 am
@luc20rules, they were looking for his jock strap
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jet Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:24 am
@fsd1, the one he took off little willie?
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Prediction: Penner will be gone at the trade deadline. He has now worked his way down to the 4th line, where he is no better than (and maybe worse than) Nolan, Richardson or fill in the blank. I understand why people want him to succeed, but the simple truth is that he isn’t. His motivation and effort have always been questioned, but it seems to me that his skill set has gone way downhill over the past few years. Gone at the trade dealine, out of the NHL in 2 years. Remember that I told you so…
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KOHO Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:58 am
@rick, The Kings should hang onto him for the rest of the season/playoffs and see how it goes. He came thru when we needed him the most scoring the western conference clincher in Phoenix which buys him the rest of this year in my book.
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puck73 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:03 am
@KOHO, Totally agree with you. Penner’s size was extremely important in the cup run. He is a nightmare matchup for most defensemen, and it seems he has worked quite well with Clifford and Fraser on the 4th line.
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PRMan Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 12:29 pm
@KOHO, Agree. When Penner finally gets interested, he is unstoppable.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 4:12 pm
@KOHO, Yup…all last season, my tune was “let’s see how he does in the playoffs” and he showed up. I didn’t know, but I had my reservations about “dumping” him.
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NOW IMPRESSED Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:59 am
@rick, The prophet of doome has spoken. If you are wrong bible says we stone you to death.
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Duncanz Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:50 am
@NOT IMPRESSED AGAIN, Ooh, heavy.
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PRMan Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 12:30 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, “If you are wrong bible says we stone you to death.”
Haha. Nice one.
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King Cobra Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:00 am
@rick, A few months ago that skill set that you say is “going down hill” buried a bouncing puck into the net at game 5 in Arizona to advance us to the Cup Finals.
You are wrong.
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KC23 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:02 am
@rick, I think it’s pretty safe to say Penner is clearly far better actually. Last years playoffs Penner had nearly 6x as many points and 4x better plus/minus.
OTOH, Penner is getting paid 4x as much money so your point isn’t completely lost on me. Penner salary would pave the way for some cap space (which we really don’t need right now anyway), but I’m not sure we could get much for him as a rental and we would just lose depth for our playoff run.
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shiny Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:07 am
@KC23, Penner actually took a pay cut to stay in LA this year. Can’t compare PO Penner w/ RS Penner as those are completely separate. I predict he’s gone at the end of the season to make room for prospects or let Nolan back in the lineup as he’s way cheaper than Penns at just under a million
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luc20rules Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:06 am
@rick, Totally disagree Penner has a jump in his step, and is checking like a mad man. He was playing well with Carter & Richards too, but Tyler came up showed well in practice, and the determination by DS was he is a top 6 guy. So to give Tyler a real shot he slotted him with Richards & Carter. It worked, what also worked was Penner sparked the 4th line on Sat. producing 3 goals.
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King Cobra Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:23 am
@luc20rules, Good post….
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OCKingGirl Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 12:10 pm
@luc20rules, +1. Penner had a slow start, but looked great on the CPR line, getting several assists. Now he looks great out there w/ Cliffy, sparking that line and contributing to several goals. Don’t dismiss the space he creates in front of the net.
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goldielocks Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:06 am
@rick,
One hater’s gone and then another appears … and the common thing about them is they never say “I was wrong” when they find out their assumption is dead wrong.
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puck73 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:12 am
@goldielocks, Dude…you just handed “richard” his lunch. OUTSTANDING !!
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rick Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:38 am
@goldielocks, I’m a “hater” because I think one of our players isn’t cutting it? Wow.
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Phil Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:07 am
@rick, I don’t know, there are so many variables and depth is a good problem to have. Penner is UFA this summer, so I think there is no need to trade him unless someone is willing to give us a first round draft pick. Also, what happens if someone gets injured? What if Toffoli shows that he really isn’t ready yet and gets sent back down? Penner, for the most part was great in the playoffs last year and his veteran experience could come through again. I think Penner stays unless someone ridiculously overpays for him and is let go this summer.
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kissmyblarneystones Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:10 am
@rick,
As hard as it is for me to admit, his numbers don’t add up to his salary. As a top six, he was given every opportunity to succeed, but the writing is clearly on the wall. What could we get for him? Very little. I’d say he is let go at the end of the season as he has 2 rings, and that means something during the play offs.
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puck73 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:14 am
@kissmyblarneystones, Tecnically, I think you are spot on. However, Penner was so valuble during the playoffs with his size, and his ability to create space for other players…DL might just keep him.
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kissmyblarneystones Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:40 am
@puck73,
If he stays, He’s gonna take another pay cut unless he becomes a beast again while en route to his 3rd cup.
Purple and Gold Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:12 am
@rick, Penner’s Fenwick numbers are still pretty solid.
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puck73 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:15 am
@Purple and Gold, @Dominick…is this you? lol
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Purple and Gold Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:20 am
@puck73, nope but @Dominick is the one who taught me how to find them.
Neil Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:21 am
@puck73, add Penner to the list of players that suck….Stoll…DD…Penner…Quick(before last night)Ellerby…ETC… geez good thing we didnt have this blog when the Kings really did suck… BTW..Penner on the 4th line !!!! Outstanding !!! 2 games 9 to 2 total !!!
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 4:17 pm
@Neil, If you’re going to include Quick before last night, you probably should include Quick after his next loss.
There’s also a matter of Brown, whenever the team isn’t winning, IIRC.
YoBro Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 5:26 pm
@puck73, But @WTFK, What if Quick doesn’t lose again?
What if he finally found IT?
We can all hope, right?
Go Kings
Shotongoal Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:19 am
@rick, yeah I’m going to have to strongly disagree with you on this……This prediction of yours has no basis. The Kings would ONLY dump veterans that they didn’t think had a future with them if they are out of the playoff picture by the trade deadline. I think pretty much everyone here is in agreement that the Kings will not be out of the playoff race. So tell me this, why would the Kings trade a veteran, proven playoff experienced player? How does this make sense or where is the logic in it?
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Forum Gold Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:23 am
@Shotongoal, Penner in the playoffs is $$$$$$$$$ well spent. GO KINGS GO!!!
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rick Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:43 am
@Shotongoal, Good point. Perhaps my crystal ball was a bit hazy when it came to timing, but I still think the guy is a goner by year’s end. I truly don’t understand the love this guy gets on here, but I can see I am in the minority (at least of those who are willing to state an opinion) so I will shut up at this point and go get a piece of pizza from Johnny’s….
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vplaza Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 12:06 pm
@rick, You’re not the only one who hates him. But if he was as bad as the haters think, why would DL and DS want him here?
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 4:18 pm
@vplaza, It isn’t my position, but I’d guess any good hater would claim it’s because DL and Sutter are infatuated with “big bodies.”
vplaza Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:27 am
@rick,
If he was going to be gone, he would have been the one benched instead of Nolan, IMO. No, I think that DS sees value in having Penner in the lineup every night, even if he isn’t going to score goals or assists often.
This year, he has not been playing as Pancakes Penner, but he also has not been playing as Playoffs Penner. He’s somewhere in between and the results are good.
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IceGuy Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:38 am
@vplaza,
And remember – he hasn’t been “demoted” to the 4th Line, he’s now on the racer Line. Balance throughout all lines now. Tough to defend.
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IceGuy Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:38 am
@IceGuy,
*Fraser* line
vplaza Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:48 am
@IceGuy, Agreed.
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 4:19 pm
@IceGuy, Good point…Sutter seems to hate the idea of numbering or in any way valuing specific lines anyway.
jet Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:33 am
@rick, Penner is a horse in the O-zone. We are a big team, that wears opponets down perioed after period. Penneer can wear players defencemne down. Pemmer also saves himself for the playoffs. He makes important plays and grades out well in the playoffs. TT is good here for a few games, maybe the rest of the regular season, but we are going to need to bring the beef in the playoffs.
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puck73 Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:37 am
@jet, Great post, totally agree. It will be interesting if Toffoli sticks with the big club or not. So far, he is doing ok. I think he still needs to improve a little, but his presence seems to have given this team better balance. The 3rd and 4th lines have improved dramatically the last 2 games with TT on the 2nd line, and Pennner going to the 4th line.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 4:21 pm
@puck73, The Toffoli question is an interesting one, isn’t it? I was pretty sure he’d be sent down at the trade deadline, if not sooner. He might just be too good send back down! We need to see more of him…maybe particularly in road games when bad D is more likely to show its ugly head?
gailweb Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 1:44 pm
@rick, Hi Rick he is playing much better now and we need his size,
Penner Power!
Go Kings Go!
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 4:10 pm
@rick, I’m thinking Richardson is more likely.
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brian spain Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 5:33 pm
@rick, You don’t know what you are talking about. Penner has been playing very well the last month. the only reason he is on the 4th line is Nolan was benched for Tyler Toffoli and Tyler can’t play 4th line. He is not that type of player. Penner is a beast when he wants to be, and lately he has been a beast. He was huge in the later rounds of the playoffs, with his size and hands. he is a puck controller, plus he almost ripped a couple guys heads off in the after play scrumbs in the playoffs.
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Muzzila is #2 (Points)with rookie defensemen but #1 in goals and +/-
Jake MUZZLE Muzzin D LA 25 6 6 12 13
Dougie Hamilton D Bos 27 3 9 12 -1
Justin Schultz D Edm 28 5 10 15 -12
You can thank DD for the Mentoring now, thank you very effin much!
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Purple and Gold Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 10:59 am
@Mars, Glad that DD is doing the work on the back end to help out the young guys. he needs to take a lesson form Muzzin and speed up his release on shots. The telegraph he put out ever time he holds his stick up forever is not doing DD’s points totals any favors.
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luc20rules Reply:
March 19th, 2013 at 11:09 am
@Purple and Gold, Agree, not as bad as Charles Barkley’s golf swing, but he just has to wrist it or one time it to get it to the net so the other Kings can do what they do best score rebounds, deflections, and continue the cycle.
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SHUTOUT SHIP-OUT SHOCKER !!!!
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JUST WIN BABY..Don’t care who’s in net…although, D-DAY is coming in regards to Bernier, but for now i’ll just enjoy having two great goalies.
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Good to see Quick play well last night and good to see JB in net today.
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Get rest boys another big game tonight!
Go Kings Go!
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That’s pretty good news. Sutter has certainly shown a willingness to play the same guy on back-to-back nights.
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Hammond would’ve told us which players were at the skate today.
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dont get to cocky fans, we still have to play the game.
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