The goalie shuffle

Jonathan Bernier flew in from Manchester on Monday to join the Kings, and will start tomorrow’s game against Nashville. In an ideal world, the Kings might simply have had Bernier meet the team in Nashville, and save him some miles and sleep, but Terry Murray said Bernier will have to serve as the Kings’ backup goalie tonight because of Erik Ersberg’s strained back. Here’s what Murray said about the goalie plan for the next couple days.

MURRAY: “Tonight, Quick is playing, and he’s our No. 1 goaltender. That’s the reason why he’s going back in. It’s a critical time of the year and it’s important games, obviously, and I want to play my best goaltender. So he’s going in.

“He [Bernier] will be playing in the game in Nashville tomorrow. That’s a decision we made right after the Dallas game. We got a report that Ersberg had strained his back. Our reaction is a process, and it’s a process that we always have to go through with any call-up. It started right after the Dallas game. Ersberg is feeling quite a bit better here today. He was on the ice skating in the morning, but I’ve already made the decision. I have talked to people about him playing in Nashville, and Bernier will backup here tonight and play in the game tomorrow.”

Murray said he was not yet certain whether Bernier would accompany the Kings back to L.A. after Tuesday’s game. Here’s what Murray said about Ersberg’s injury, and how it took place…

MURRAY: “I think it happened in the warmup (Saturday). The warmup begins right after your team meetings. The players go out in the back and kick the soccer ball around, and then you have the pregame warmup. I just get the report, after the game is over, on all the players who participated in the game. It’s a game-to-game report. The medical staff does their job, and then you have to follow through with a process.”