Kings postgame quotes

let's start a tally. games we outplay the opponents and should have won, but for an incompetent goaltender. what are we up to now, 4 or so?

screw it, as long as labarbera is in net, this team will barely be a cut above atrocious (that being cloutier).

This is what will happen this year:

1) Labarbera will get 65 out of 65 starts, leading us to a 21-37-7 record and 49 points, last place by far.

2) Terry Murray will give in, Ersberg will start the remaining 17 games, going 10-4-3, giving us 72 points and the second worst record behind the islanders.

3) The Leafs will win the lottery, leaving us with the third pick and out of the Tavares/Hedman sweepstakes.

4) Labarbera will be re-signed as a bridge player.

5) Terry Murray will say that those last 17 games were a fluke, that the kings were out of it, and that Ersberg isn't REALLY that good, or that the sample size was too small to matter. Insert Labarbera.

6 to infinity) Wash, rinse, repeat...

Where does Moller rank in the rookie scoring?

This guy is turning into a neat story. While he was not at all unhearalded, Moller was at best long shot to make the team, and yet here he is playing well and contributing offensively. He is miles better than POS and Brown were when they were rookies. His style is very different, but he's putting up numbers like Kopitar did his rookie year.

It will be fun to see this guy get better as he grows into his adult body, and learns the ins and outs of the NHL. I wonder if he'll be on Sweden's national team?

I hope TM continues to play Barbs for the next 72 games. That way we'd be assured Tavares or Hedman.

TM better not start his back-up, or else. Just keep starting Barbs. Yes, Yes. You're a brilliant coach. Your talent makes my teeth sweat.

Sorry to post twice in a row, but reading Dave's post made me think a bit.

Young, talented teams that are not used to winning often outplay opponents and find silly ways to lose tight games. I coach water polo and have had some young, talented teams get into the state playoffs and would just blow our opponents up; drawing penalties, out shooting, out swimming, you name it. Then we'd lose; hitting posts, missing the cage with shots, bad penalties, mishandling the ball.

My point is that it takes time, and a lot of painful loses, in order for a team to learn how to win. Some athletes never learn what it takes. I've graduated some great polo players that would just choke under pressure, plain and simple.

I think a lot of Kings fans believe that JLB just does not have what it takes to win games. I have to agree with them. He can keep the team in the game, most of the time, but he can't bail them out when they need it on a regular basis, nor can he steal one with a big save.

Luckily, this group of Kings players will get to play an entire season with the chance to learn how to win available to them every game. Every game is lesson. The core of the team is signed. Young players are beginning to contribute. One of the young goalies will take over in the next year or so. But I agree with most fans, that is process is tough to watch - but it sure beats watching Chris Snell and Rob Cowie, guys who were going nowhere, skating around out there.

The overall team effort is great to see but at some point the fans are going to demand (and deserve) real victories rather than moral ones. They would also want a starting goalie that can steal a few games.

Will,

Columbus has a rookie named Derek Brassard who already has 11 points on the season, including four goals. I caught part of the Blue Jackets game tonight against Chicago, and Brassard really stood out. He was picked sixth overall a couple of years ago.

If the Kings played a very good game last night and were down by two goals midway thru the 2nd, that doesn't inspire huge confidence. You can also feel these endings coming a mile away, a lead that disappears in the last minutes of the game, a tie that turns into a loss.
I'm sorry for JLB. I didn't see the game but he's obviously giving it his all.... but....

I also can't help thinking of AEG. Is there any other owner in all of major league sports that just doesn't care one way or another whether their team wins or loses?
That can't be helping the team. The Kings have to fight against that as well as the rest of the teams in a very strong western conference.

Man you guys are brutal. Doughty loses his man for the one timer with the pass from behind the net. Not the goalies fault.

One of the others was a pinball that went in off of Handzus' shinguard. Not his fault.

I'm not saying the dude is Patrick Roy but hearing the losses pinned on him if they're his fault or not is tiring.

How many other goalies have you guys done this to that are on to good careers elsewhere? Shall we count off the top of my head?

Lets start with Garon who was railed out of town and is now up in Edmonton and was voted MVP by the fans last year.

We have Legace, Huet, and I know there are a couple of others. Poing being until we have a good team in front of the goalie, he's going to get shelled. Labs has had probably one or two bad games this season. Beyond that he's had a couple of great ones and the rest he did fine in.

We're all hoping that Bernier is the man but I feel bad for him when he comes up because he'll just get broken down after one bad game and then the talk about bringing in Khabibulin will be on.

Excellent points Will Hutchison

Its not fun watching your team lose, but when they give that kind of effort, you know eventually those results will be reversed...especially when one of the young kid goalies establishes himself as a true #1.