The goaltending plan
Jason LaBarbera will get the start tomorrow against Carolina, and perhaps the game after that, and perhaps the game after that, and... You get the idea. Terry Murray likes what he has seen from LaBarbera, who has a 2.36 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in his first three games, and Murray is likely to keep going with LaBarbera, even though it means delaying Erik Ersberg's first start. With all the days off and home games early in the season, the schedule sets up for a heavy workload for LaBarbera. Here's what Murray said today about his goaltending situation...
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Question: Do you have something penciled in with the goalies, as far as how to use them?
MURRAY: ``You know, I had something penciled in when I was looking at the schedule in the summertime. Even through the training camp, I kind of had an idea of wanting to get Ersberg in quickly, to keep going what he did in the training camp. But right now I want to keep going with Barbs (Jason LaBarbera). He's going to play again tomorrow. I'll take a look at it as we get on the road the next couple games. We got out for two, back to back with travel. Maybe there's an opportunity for (Ersberg). But -- and I always say `but' -- if Barbs is playing like he is, and he's sharp and alert and feels good and feels fresh, he's my No. 1 goaltender and I'll keep going with him.''
Question: Based on feedback you might have gotten, what do you think is the biggest change in him from last year?
MURRAY: ``I don't know Barbs from before. What I've been told is that he's lost a lot of weight. He's physically in top shape. He's put in a great summer with a huge commitment to nutrition and working out. That's why he looks so fresh every day, I believe. Last year, I know there were some situations that maybe popped up in games too often, with grade-one scoring chances against. So we've tried to put a big focus on the defensive part of the game, to have some respect for our goaltenders and give him the support, so that we can get a true evaluation of who these guys are. I think it's starting to come together for him. I like a lot of the things that he's done so far in the games.''
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J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
E-mail J.P. at jp.hoornstra@inlandnewspapers.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews
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Vincent Bonsignore is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News. E-mail Vinny at vincent.bonsignore
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Give Ersberg a couple games in a row, and the starting job will be his.
Where are the comments? This can't sit well with all the Ersberg supporters out there. I'm curious what you think. Those that love the direction of the team, yet Barbs is the backstop for the long haul. Does this fact lessen your belief that we're headed in the right direction?
Murray clearly believes in giving his players the room to succeed (or fail). That's fine. If he plays well, it's good for the Kings. If he doesn't, that's good too, because that will be the end of that, and he will be gone. Ersberg will get his 20 games and we'll see what he does with them. Bernier will do what he needs to do in Manchester. I have a feeling that if the GAA creeps up, we'll see more of Ersberg. Right now JL has let in seven goals, nearly half of which were a little soft, but seven goals in three games is quite good. It seems like Murray considers the big picture more than he microanalyzes the details (as, for example, I am prone to do). Same with Harrold: made some mistakes, got better as the game went on, overall not too bad, and in the context of a solid defensive game by the team, Murray seems inclined to stick with him. We'll see.
I don't feel any special urgency to throw Ersberg in there.
Waves - Quisp said it. Just play him and lets see what happens. Again, this year is about getting the attitude right, not demanding perfection. I'm also not of the opinion that Labs has really been at fault on any of the goals he's allowed. I wanted Ersberg to be the guy in the summer, but I don't see the point in arguing that Murray's gotten it wrong. He hasn't.
The funny part about Quisp's arguement, however, is that its the very attitude I wish the Kings would have followed with Tukonen. I'd be much more assured if I'd have actually seen that he couldn't fit on an NHL team, especially one coached by TMurray rather than Crawford.
cheers
Not that we haven't been over the Tukonen thing with a fine toothed comb, but Tukonen failed at the AHL level. That's why he wasn't given the time of day with the big club. I know how you feel though, in principle. I used to feel the same way about Robert Lang, back when Melrose would only give him two shifts a game. I'm still rooting for Robert. Kings and Habs Stanley Cub rematch! Not impossible. Okay, impossible, but only because it's not going to happen.
And Handzus and Preissing failed last year for the Kings, but they are proving that things can be different in a better environment. Its too easy just to say Tukonen failed at the AHL level because you don't have to give evidence. He recorded a point in 50 % of his games and was supposed to be defensively responsible. Hardly failure in my opinion. But like you said, we've already agreed to disagree on this one. All I really regret is that he was never given a chance to fail at the NHL level. That I could accept.
I don't like this. I think Ersberg showed potential last year and should be given a proper chance. Murray even says he had a good thing going in camp this year.
I have no problems with Labs being nr1 really, but if they wait too long before Ersberg gets his first start, he might get out of the groove, and that's the worst thing they can do for developing his potential