Quick practice report

I want to see Ersberg in goal, see if he can help us out this year. He did a good job towards the end of last season.

Terry Murray and the Kings VS Andy Murray & The ST Louis Blues!!

GO KINGS GO!!!!!!

Murray is a damn fool.
I don't understand what he has against POS and Ersberg.

He knows that by starting POS with Kopitar-Brown - that line would be a point producing machine. Starting Calder instead of the Magnificent Moulson isn't going to make much of a difference. They're both grinders They both play the same style of hockey. They need some speed on the wing in oder to produce goal scoring chances. That line will continue to struggle. Just watch.

And I believe that Ersbeg deserves a chance to play. Murray has given Labs many chances. That's not fair. And all he's done thus far (in 5 games) is prove that he's just an average back-up goalie. He hasn't demonstrated the ability to win a game on his own. NEVER.
So why not give Ersberg a chance already.

i hate zeiler.

i swear if zeiler plays a single game on the Kings this season...
i will blame Boyle or Richardson or Calder or Moulson or Ivanans or whomever spot he's taking b/c they weren't working hard enough.
i guess i could pull an anthony and blame Lombardi for zeiler's ridiculous 1-way contract.

i hate zeiler.

So if Zeiler comes back, who goes? Boyle down to Manchester? It better not be Simmonds or Moller.

I dont see logic in keeping JL in goal and I dont see the logic in keeping a dynamic 1st line of Sully Kopi and Brown seperated. If its not working fix it not the other way around.

The Blues have a great PP, it will be interesting to see how our PK unit does. I can't believe Kariya is 34.

It has been a long time since i've seen calder show any type of energy or scoring potential... It is kind of a surprising move.

Why continue to delay the inevitable? Put O'Sullivan with Brown and Kopitar.

Are they seriously going to keep Zeiler in the NHL when he recovers?

Was that an omission on the last line of your notes?

shouldn't the words "to Manchester" follow the word "go?"

and Gov. Palin will drop the puck. bummer there's no tv... I won't be home anyway, leaving for vacation very early AM.

Zeiler sucks...

GO KINGS!!!!!! in my absence

Kopitar and Brown's struggles this season cannot all be pinned on their linemate. No, I have not been very impressed by Moulson, but he should not be the sole blame for that line struggling. Koptiar and Brown have remained together on a line for the past two years but the other winger has rotated even last season and Brown and Kopitar were still able to put up big numbers and dominate games at times while playing with even Ivannas at times. They have underperformed this season as they have disappeared for stretches of games and it is not all Moulson's fault

p.s. to what Anonymous says, I definitely think they are trying to get 2 very solid scoring lines assembled. yes the experiment on left wing has not been too impressive so far, but give it a chance. I think these three may end up on a line together eventually, but it's interesting look into what Murray's coaching style is. definitely a change of philosophies coming in which is not always bad.

O - Kopi - Brown would be a dominant line but I'm worried they'd have absolutely no scoring behind them, and then these 3 can only be on the ice 30% of the time. Sully will make whatever other line he plays on much better.

"I can't believe Kariya is 34."

I can... but maybe because I'm 34 (wait I can't believe it either).

I think the Kings PK will be tested but in the end will come through strong vs. the Blues. and hopefully Ersberg is the man who gets to show what he can do!!

I don't completely get the lack of confidence in Preissing and replacing him with Harrold. I admit last season was not very good, but aside from ol' reliable O'D, he was very nearly our best defenseman for the first 4 games, now he's in the doghouse on the bottom rung already? pull somebody else out if you have to get Harrold in a game.

Zeiler fills a role and he fills it very well. He plays an energy game on the 4th line and sees less than 8 minutes a night. People getting up in arms over him is the equivalent of people getting up in arms over which middle reliever gets mop up duty.

Last I checked, the Kings are playing pretty well, so maybe you guys could give Murray the benefit of the doubt for just a few more games.

i still hate zeiler.

Anthony..as usual, you are way over the top.
POS plays a regular shift..PK..and PP and Murray hates him?
Ersberg gets a NHL salary, instead of AHL salary and Murray hates him?

I may be the only one, but I don't see the issue with Zeiler. I'm well aware from watching him that he has absolutely no scoring ability. You can send him out on the ice without a stick and he'd have just as many goals.
BUT..the guy will be playing on the 4th line...He skates his ass off and hits everything in sight. He's an energy type player.
We don't need scoring from our 4th line...especially with the way TM uses the 4th line..Unlike Crawford who rolled 4 lines consistently, TM uses his 4th line sparingly. When they get out there, their job is to forecheck and go full tilt for 30 seconds...try to turn momentum around if need be. Zeiler does what Boyle needs to learn how to do. That's why he makes more sense on the 4th line than Boyle.
We have the talent on our top 3 lines to score at will. This isn't fantasy hockey.

I guess if Zeiler comes back, Boyle goes..I was originally thinking Purcell would come back, but if they are going to activate Zeiler, that won't happen.
I don't see this move affecting Moller or Simmonds..especially if they continue the way they've been playing.

WIth Calder, TM hinted that this could be the last straw for him...He mentioned that he sat him out 4 games because of lack of intensity and told Calder so. If the coach tells you after benching you to bust you ass and you still don't...waivers is the next step.

So, is there a real Kings Insider among us? Anyone have any clue how the players and coach are synching or not? How is Labarbara's attitude after being pulled? Preissing's? Though I have disagreed with a few things Murray has done, I know that sometimes firm tactics are successful. Can anyone give us a sense of what the team chemistry is like?

How is Brown dealing with the Captaincy? Are the players all on one page, or are there cliques?

My top 4 lines -

O'Sullivan - Kopitar - Brown
Moulson - Stoll - Moller
Frolov - Handzus - Boyle
Simmonds - Richardson - Armstrong/Ivanans

LaBarbera question for you Rich (since I know you can get it from someone) -- or a local stat wizard: Labarbera has had stretches when he's been good but I don't know when or how good. Can anyone dig up those stats?

Last year when he was defensive player of the month...how long was that run of games and what were the stats?

The year prior to being stuck in the AHL he had a really good run and then his girlfriend got sick (the infamous personal issue). Again how long was that run of games and what were the stats?

I also think that one of these years he had a really good start to the season for like 10-15 games. That might be the same as one of the two categories above. Again can anyone find that?

Finally is TM playing him because he's hoping that THAT LaBarbera will come back or do you think he's playing him based on his current play?

Bonus: to compare, what are Ersberg's stats for his ~15 games last year?

Thanks if anyone finds it.

Thanks voice of Reason..I guess I'm not alone

Do the Kings want to lose? Sully, Brown and Kopi have chemistry and will score more together tha 2 half @ss lines.Put your strengths out together for more wins then not.With out a doubt the present lines except for Fro ,Simmonds and Zeus,are not effective just look at Browns and Kopis' performance and production.If you want an improved Kings' team and results lets have a line that can score more consistantly,are the fans the only ones that see this? WOW

lOOK, If you want an energy guy, why not gabe Gauthier? the guy hits everything in sight, can skate, and can put the puck in the net every once in awhile. Zeiler works his ass off I realize that, but he brings nothing to the table. Plenty of guys can fill his "role"

Wow, the hate for Zeiler. I love all the couch coaches saying everything and thinking they know more then an NHL coach. Was everybody at every single preseason game and practice? i think the coaches know what their doing and by the way the team has played this year, I will continue to give praise to the team and coach Murray. The Kings have 2 more wins right now then I thought they would have.

Jayrew
Plenty of guys can fill the role? Not really...if Boyle would have filled it correctly, he'd be playing.

Zeiler works his ass off but brings nothing to the table? What is working your ass off? Are you looking for a consistant goal scorer on your 4th line playing 8 minutes a game...Good luck!

Gauthier? limited sample but 8 games 0 goals 0 assists 8 shots.
He's put the puck in the net in Manchester, but that's not the NHL. If that was the case, Barbs would be a star in the NHL..he was in Manchester.

MK_42
Though I don't have the specific stats, I can tell you I watch JL play during that time. He was hot to start the 2005 season, probably last 15 games or so. After that Garon started playing very well and JL was the backup, though he played strong down towards the end of the season. 2006 he was in the AHL, 2007 was hit or miss, but I do recall him his GAA being very low. The reality with JL is that he gets hot and cold. He can win games for you, but he can also lose games for you, as we saw against COL the other night.

The stats on Ersberg are available online, check out espn. I'm not sure why TM is so high on JL, it could be that he feels JL will perform better if he's not looking over his shoulder, who knows. I think most Kings fans will agree that Ersberg played well last year and deserved to get more starts this year. His rebound control is awesome.

Cristobal - Please drop the whole "where is JL's head at after getting pulled the other night". Being pulled is part of the sport, JL has probably been pulled over 100 times in his playing career. He gave ups 3 goals on 6 shots. That is when you pull your goalie. If anything, he'll be more hungry to show that game was a fluke.

As for your line combos, why would you break up Fro, Zeus, and Simmonds, they have been our best line this year and clearly have chemistry.

The only spots that need to be determined right now are a winger for Kopi/Brown, a winger for Stoll/Moller, and who ends up on the 4th line. Sully is the no brainer for line one, but let's get an idea of our options. If Calder will take the punishment in front of the net on that line, that only helps give Kopi and Brownie more space, so maybe that works, who knows. We're 5 games into the season, with 77 more to go, have a little patence with the lines

dellanooch - yes, if calder will go to the net, it will open up space. I was hoping Moulson would have gone there more, but they didn't have much offensive zone presence that night.

I have dropped the "how will Jason respond to being pulled" issue. But I can go into it again if you want. "HE" didn't give up 3 goals on 6 shots, the "TEAM" did.

We're 5 games into the season, with 77 more to go, have a little patience with the players.

I would give Boyle a look on that line with Fro and Handy because I think there's a possibility it could do well, not because of anything Simmonds has done. I think Simmonds looks to be more "interchangeable" than Boyle, meaning - I think he could energize the 4th line and possibly help them create offense with his speed, ability and willingness to take the body, and his impressive hands.

My problem with the JL/EE debate is that people are fixated on the 15 games EE had that were awesome. Every 2nd rate goalie has hot stretches. It seems to me that JL has had the same hot stretches. I would think that the coaches are looking at how they are playing NOW and pick the best one based on that. Either that or they are going on history, and historically JL has been hot until he folds and EE sucked in the AHL and had one hot streak. Given those two choices I'd say it's a toss up.

Rich, can you find out how they are evaluating the goaltenders (if it's today's performance or if it's more "experience" weighted)?

My problem with the JL/EE debate is that just cause JL has experience that makes him the default #1 when he hasn't really earned it with his play. It seems no matter how many times JL drops the ball they let him drop it again. I don't buy this JL needs "X" amount of games to warm or hes better with more workload stuff. Terry you rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes go to plan B.

Cristobal
Stop with that TEAM stuff. In most cases I'd agree, but that makes no sense in this case. HE (Barbs) gave up 3 goals on 6 shots. HE didn't come up with the big save to bail out the miscues his D made. HE shouldn't be complaining after getting pulled. I expect the goalie's saves percentage to be better than 50%. He wasn't the reason we lost, but he sure as hell didn't help the situation. Can you honestly say he played well?