Matt Murray has been a Kings fan since the late '80s, when Wayne Gretzky grabbed headlines by defecting to the West Coast. Since then, he has been a card-carrying bandwagon member as the club soared in popularity with their sole Stanley Cup appearance to their position near the bottom of the Pacific. But things are looking brighter, as he is anxious to witness the rise of the new Kings.
Am I taking crazy pills?
So, as the fans of Staples Center rained down boos from the rafters last night on Cloutier, I started to think. One person shouldn't be getting all the blame. Yet, all I heard from the post-game show were callers ragging on Cloutier not being the best goalie on his team, about how Crawford signed him to a two-year extension and how good Garon has been playing.
I thought to myself, 'Are these callers actual fans? Am I taking crazy pills?'
Yes, Garon has played exceptional well... against teams currently at or under.500. The two times he faced a good team, Dallas, he was beaten both times. He took Anaheim to overtime, and got a point. But lost in the shootout.
Crawford didn't sign Cloutier, Lombardi did. I'm sure Crawdaddy had a say in it, but Deano writes the checks around here.
And Cloutier has played bad, because he's out of shape. He hasn't played full-time in two seasons, and I questioned the extension at the time. It seemed very risky at the time, and it still does. But, if he's done one thing, he's stepped up Garon's intensity. And let me say this: if Garon or LaBarbara had the defense last season that they do this season, we would've made the playoffs. In the past five games, the Kings have outshot their opponents by an avrage of ten shots. Not only that, they've held the opposition to under 30 shots a game. However, Cloutier and Garon still need to make the saves.
So, as I was driving home, collecting my thoughts, I started wondering why other players aren't getting harped on?
Where's Conroy? 0 goals and 3 assists in 15 games and is at -7.
Where's Thorton? 0 goals and 1 assist in 15 games, at -8.
Where's Willsie? 1 goal and 1 assist in 15 games, at -8.
Where's O'Sullivan? When he's not on the bench, 1 goal, 1 assist. He is even in plus/minus. And even playing in 12 games, he's currently sixth on the team in shots. He's taken more shots than Conroy, Thorton and Willsie, as well as Frolov and Armstrong. Honestly, if we're rebuilding.. ahem "reloading"... then let the kids play, for Pete Demers' sake.
If you're gonna pile on Cloutier, then, as Kings fans, you gotta share the blame with some of these other guys.
