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I have figured out Rich's evil plan. He goes out and writes about a topic that will get Anthony worked up. Anthony then spits out what he thinks is wrong with it, then everybody writes back and tells Anthony he is wrong, and Rich laughs because his blog hits huge numbers. Well done my friend, well done. Oh and I disagree with whatever Anthony says about this topic.

Ryan, my friend, please chill.
We're all kings fans here. I'll try to be subtle.

Now, the reason why I'm against this strategy - it rewards a player for doing very little. Thus far, Barbs performance has been average. He hasn't been able to come up with the big save. And he's let in some very soft goals that ended up being game winners.
If Barbs performane is just average, why not give the other goalie a chance to perform.
You never know, he might end up out-performing the starter. Which I'm positive he will.
If he doesn't, then TM can continue to start his beloved Jason.

Too funny Ryan.

It's good to see that the coach still has confidence in Jason and that he'll continue to get starts. If it were left up to the internet mob, we'd be on our 2nd or 3rd goalie, less than 10 games into the season.

You have to realize that until TM actually decides to go with Ersberg or Bernier, it's best for him to PRETEND that he's confident in Barbs.

There's no upside to making Barbs think his job is in jeopardy and that he's being blamed for anything - it would probably just negatively affect his performance. It's kind of ridiculous the way goalies are such headcases & get coddled, but I guess that's the way it is.

TM isn't stupid - don't take these remarks at face value.

While I do not agree with Anthony regarding the whole POS/first line-second line placement (i like the idea of being able to roll 3 scoring lines as opposed to 1), i think this idea of anthony isn't half bad. Now while 2 horrible turnovers the other night cost the game, there have been goals that labarbara should have had. His goaltending has been just OK. Is he a starter on any other team? I don't think so. If i was TM and I'm not this is what i would do: Start labarbara against the blues, and then for sure go with ersberg for nashville for the whole game. Lets see which goalie does better, and which one the team plays better in front of. That's fair isn't it?

I have to ask myself the question: What did the coaching staff see in training camp that lead them to decide that Labarbara was the #1 and that Ersberg wasn't? I trust their experience and expertise.

Its like the fans at Staples that yell "Shoot! SHOOOTTT!!" during a power play. They guys on the ice are hockey players and probably know better than you when to shoot the puck.

Anthony, Just wanted to thank you for stopping with the MURPHY comments. Feel free to criticize all you want, God knows we cant stop you, just do it respectfully.

It appears to me that Brabs does his best work when there is a lot of it. I thought his best game was the 2nd of back to back games. I think his worst was the first Sharks game (4 goals, 4 posts) when he had a week off. Did anyone else see this?

I think that labs has played pretty decent! Don't really think that you could blame him for those breakdowns against the avs. Oh and I thought Labs had a huge Save against Carolina in the overtime to help win the game. Some of you have just got it in for him.

jet> i know you're just making an observation, but what's funny is that has always been labarbera's "comfort zone," but yet it's completely backwards. maybe i can claim that i work more efficiently when i get a raise, but does that mean you should give me a raise to work more efficiently? the team should let his play justify his reward (playing time, being named the #1), not let his reward justify his play. i just have no idea why they keep going with him.

pauly> we've "got it in for him" the last 4 years because we're sick of watching soft goals go in and losing games solely because of him on plenty of occasions. a couple good games here and there are not the norm with this guy. most of us do not base our opinions on the start of this season, until we are reminded again of how ineffective he has historically been. let the season linger, you will soon notice the number of bad games make a steady rise.

We all know about Labarbera's inconsistent performance over the last several years. I'm sure TM has heard all about it, too, but it's probably a coaching thing to think that maybe he can spot a correctable flaw in his game and fix it. Once he realizes that this can't be done, I fully expect that he'll be the backup, probably by Thanksgiving.

ersberg posted some decent numbers late last yr on a very bad team....barbs might be #1 right now but perhaps its time to adopt a 'u win u play next game' strategy....there is NO chance barbs is our #1 moving forward as the team rebuilds....he looked brutal the other night....i dont care if a couple goals were on defensive zone turnovers....u cant get beat by wristshots from the parking lot....an NHL #1 goalie doesnt let those in....kings outplayed avs and deserved a better fate....that was 2 pts lost becuz of goaltending...we cant afford to lose games becuz of goaltending...were not that confident and strong yet