Ersberg preparing to play

As I mentioned earlier, Erik Ersberg was the first goalie off the ice today, while Jonathan Quick spent a substantial amount of time on the ice with Bill Ranford. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Ersberg will start tomorrow, but it is a piece of circumstantial evidence, let’s say. The team spent a big chunk of practice working on shootout drills, so the goalies got plenty of work. Afterward, Ersberg talked about preparing for his next start, whenever it might be…

ERSBERG: “I feel good in practice. I felt good today, and I’m just trying to work hard. I try to do some stuff that can be used in a game, not just taking shots. That’s the hard part, getting ready for those situations. You always get shots, but I’m really excited to get back in there.”

I followed up by asking Ersberg what he could do in practice to best simulate game situations…

ERSBERG: “We do some drills in practice that are more system-oriented. Like when they circle in the zone, you just try to play it as a game. Sometimes we do some drills with Billy too, and that helps a lot.”

Ersberg will look at break a significant streak. His last victory came on Dec. 13 of last year against Minnesota. Since then, he’s 0-7-2, including his 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Oct. 14.

There would be, in my opinion, a couple reasons to start Ersberg tomorrow. One, he hasn’t played in a long time. Two, Murray has expressed some displeasure with Jonathan Quick’s game. Three, let’s face it, the Hurricanes don’t score many goals. Four, it might help Murray determine how to handle this weekend’s upcoming back-to-back set. Should be an interesting day.