LaBarbera on final goal

OK, sign me up for the "Ersberg Now" club.

HOW CAN HE (jlb) NOT STOP THAT SHOT!?!?!?!?

He's had his 10 games and the full support of the coach. He's done nothing great but a lot of things poorly. It's now time to give Ersberg 10 games in a row and see what he can do.

NO. What's frustrating is your inability to come up a single big save. What's frustrating is your inabilty to steal a game away on your own.
Ever heard of the phrase "hugging the goal post"
DUHHHHHHHHHHHH.
I hope you carry this team all the way to obtaining Tavares or Hedman.
I know you can do it.

Terrible read by Labs. Easy stop. But Kopitar's lackluster effort to stop Bertuzzi's pass was equally terrible. But Preissing takes the cake. That ridiculous fan-shot was followed by a totally awkward and embarrassing fall. THEN as he lazily gets up, the puck comes right back at him and he lets it go by! Doughty was doing everything he could and Preissing just absolutely blew it. Obviously he might not have scored, but that was just terrible.

Terrible read by Labs. Easy stop. But Kopitar's lackluster effort to stop Bertuzzi's pass was equally terrible. But Preissing takes the cake. That ridiculous fan-shot was followed by a totally awkward and embarrassing fall. THEN as he lazily gets up, the puck comes right back at him and he lets it go by! Doughty was doing everything he could and Preissing just absolutely blew it. Obviously he was tired and might not have scored, but still, that was just terrible.

no more Labs, I was at the game and he just is to slow, out of position, doesnt cover the post, and lets in five hole shots constantly. Kips came up big, when it counted, how many times has Labs let in a goal right after we work hard and tie the score? Murray demotes people for one bad game but wont give Ersy the start, ever? Labs is killing this teams momentum.

``I didn't read it right. It hit the post and hit me. Obviously, you'd like to make the save there. That's frustrating.''

Ya think?
Your team fight back to get back into the game and you give up that kind of goal.

As far as Preissing goes, I don't fault him for the effort. He knew he had to get something off as the time was ticking off, and was shooting against his body.
I suppose you missed that sliding save he made to keep the puck in, right? He blew that one for sure.

Ersberg is not the answer. You have to think they have less confidence in him, or he'd have started by now. Labs will start 70 games this year.

I was at the game and Labs is not the answer and switching lines every game is even worse...it not helping since we ve lost 4 in a row...The coach had Osullivan with his old line only one game..This coach is going to lose respect from his team very quickly....

28 KINGS - how do you know that Ersberg is not the answer? he has only shown that he is great in nhl games. so what if he's not good in practice? or the ahl? maybe he's a gamer. at the very least, he won't be WORSE than what we've seen. and why don't we go with someone who MIGHT be with us in the future (ersberg, bernier, quick, zatkoff, etc.), instead of somebody who we have seen entirely too much of and WILL NOT be with us at all?

If TM plays ersberg then we lose our shot at Tavares. lol.

In all honesty, its sucked so far this year, but maybe it will pay off big time come draft day. Then hopefully Ersberg, Quick, or Bernier will come in next year and play great. Besides, having Tavares would take a lot of pressure off of Kopitar.

If TM plays ersberg then we lose our shot at Tavares. lol.

In all honesty, its sucked so far this year, but maybe it will pay off big time come draft day. Then hopefully Ersberg, Quick, or Bernier will come in next year and play great. Besides, having Tavares would take a lot of pressure off of Kopitar.

I agree that LaBarbara can't make the big saves to win a close game. I agree that Ersberg should get a similar opportunity.

LaBarbara is in a contract year and this is how he responds? What other motivation do you need?! He feels he is the most physically fit and eating right this year. What benefit have we seen in his play and the stats? He is surely faster post-to-post, but is it enough?

The other complaint I have on the GWG is that Bill Ranford teaches the goalies to hug the post and swivel their head to quickly check the scoring areas before focusing back in on the puck behind the net. LaBarbara didn't do that for this play. If he was worried about the backdoor play, he would have noticed that it was covered by the defenseman on the GWG if he had swiveled and taken the best chance away on the close post.

Sure he'd like to have that one back. I'd like to have the first 1/8th of the season back too. Steal one game for us, Jason! It's been 9 games and you've given up a deflating goal just after we clawed back twice this homestand. You must realize how deflating that is for the team - regardless of whose fault the goal is.

For Terry Murray, you said this stretch of 7 home games is very important. We've lost 3 of those 7 games now. You've changed most of the forward lines. You've decreased the quality scoring chances by protecting home plate. You've brought our shots against down to 2nd best in the NHL. Why is it that our GAA for our #1 goalie is 24th in the NHL? Is the quality of the chances that we are giving up making that big a difference? I think not.

I'm frustrated with Jason LaBarbara. Ersberg may be "inexperienced", but we need a change in goal NOW. How much more of this season do we allow LaBarbara the opportunity to dig us a hole? I don't want to be looking forward to draft day in January/February again. Personally, I'm done with LaBarbara until Ersberg proves he is worse.

I attended the game tonight, and many of you will blame LaBarb. Rightfully so on the last one,but he made some big saves during the game. But the point I really want to bring up is this, we dominated the game. It shouldn't have been left up to LaBarbra. We just don't have the ability to finish plays. We had numerous golden opportunities to score and we couldn't bury it. I saw good things tonight, except the ability to score. When we start taking advantage of our opportunities, we'll start winning.

Quisp, I had a couple extra tickets tonight, was going to see if you wanted to attend, but ran out of time. When I asked If you'd been to a game yet on the survey post, I was trying to get a hold of you. Had 4 VIP tickets tonight. Used two and sold the other two. It was a good game.

The Kings had chances to bury the game and Kipper came up with big saves. However...Labs has to make that save. That was one of the worst reads I've ever seen a goalie make on a play. No excuses.

After Tom Preissing whiffed and fell down, I laughed so hard that I missed the remaining 5 seconds of the game. High quality stuff, Tom.

Sorry guys...but LaBarbara is the 2nd coming of Roman Checkmanek. Roman made great saves too at times, but he did the same thing Jason has been doing: Letting in the one goal that loses the game that he should have stopped on a consistent basis. Look, kudos to Jason for changing his diet and working hard. SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST NOT CUT OUT TO BE A #1 GOALTENDER IN THIS LEAGUE!! I would never tell him to give up, but it's Ersberg's turn for 10 games. If he doesn't work, we bring up Bernier and get him going NOW!

I am SICK of losing games like this. In 29 years of being a fan of this team, I have NEVER had a more frustrating start to a season. At least 1/2 of the games we have lost we should have won. We have the talent and when they give it up for 60 minutes, they are DOMINATE. We saw it tonight. Like CBC said, Kipper is proof of what solid goaltending can do for your team. Right now, this is about 70% of the reason we are currently losing games. Great saves are NOT enough in this league...we need GAME STEALERS also!

Bring in Erik for a while. Stop changing the lines so much and change the goalie for a change.

That game was the perfect example of an NHL goalie against an AHL goalie. LaBarbara is good enough to make some good saves, and to keep his team in most games. But He doesn't have the ability to make THE save when the team needs it. As soon as the Kings tied it at 2, I knew he would give up a goal, and it would probably be one he should have stopped. Anthony is right. He doesn't have the ability to steal games away.

And I thought Preissing played great last night. That sliding block in the last minute to keep the puck in the zone was as good as any play Doughty has made this year, but you're all in love with Doughty. He fanned on that shot later in the shift because, as the HNIC crew pointed out, he was exhausted. Give the guy a break.

Another guy I was watching tonight was Brian Boyle. He started out playing the same way he's played all season. Tentative and worried more about making a mistake. When the Kings came out with the PP at the start of the 2nd period, Boyle was supposed to park in front of the net and try to screen Kipprusoff. Instead he stood next to the goal and watched. But then he must have gotten yelled at on the bench or something because after that he started playing pretty well.

All in all, a great effort by the Kings that should have been rewarded with a win. Kipprusoff stole that game.

Once again, LaBarbera played just "great" enough to LOSE.

It would be nice to see if Ersberg can play just "well" enough to WIN.

Duckhunter --

Thanks for thinking of me! I didn't see your comment on the other post. As it turned out, I was at Ikea buying containers for my kid's toys, while grinding my teeth that the game was radio only. I actually looked on ebay today to see if there were any good tickets for tonight's game. But again, thanks for the thought.

Is the coach always to blame? How about the lack of scoring from three-quarters of the entire team? What's with Kopi, did he forget how to play D since he signed his big contract? Maybe Sully's contract has given him some major attitude that needs adjusting. I agree that Barbs needs to sit for a couple and let Ersberg get a shot at the leading role. It's time for this team to become just that: A TEAM! Brownie needs to get these guys on track and get this team moving in the right direction and if that means sitting down with TM then he should do it. I am not privi to what goes on behind the scenes with this team so I can't make a determination on how to correct it, but if some of you are then let's get it done. What I can say is that there is a lot of money being paid out to ALL athletes by working stiffs like us so it's up to them to get the desire to play at their best every night and earn those big money contracts.

Look people..... It is the same story year after year. Yes, they have some great players, but like always can't stop the puck!! Instead of handing out 7 year deals,which would be nice if he put one on the board? they might want to help the kids with someone who can stop a puck. Build around that?!

Do we really expect anything more from Labs?? Time after time he has shown that he does not deserve to be the number one goalie.. As far as Ersberg, he really needs to play so we can see who is the best goalie out there. If TM decides to play Labs for 60 games then he may be out of job come next season and also at least we will have a shot at the #1 pick at the draft.

Duckhunter - is it really our inability to finish plays, or the other team's goaltenders smothering our chances? you can blame our reaction time, our aim, whatever. but just looking at today, calgary missed wide more than we did, it happens. at some point, we have to point at our goaltender and just concede that each team is getting the chances, but our goaltender can't do anything to stop the shots that any nhl goalie should be stopping.

Labs actually looked pretty good for most of the game, that is until that unfortunate goal at the end. but (and I hate to admit it) Labs has steadily been getting better each game. He still doesn't look great. I think it's funny how people are calling for his head here as his game has been getting better.

That being said I really want to see Ersberg get some starts already.

Also, what a great game by Doughty. He looked unbelievable. And Kopitar played a little better too. Now if the team could just get a win.

Labs hasn't been getting better...that was one of his best games of the season, but he's been shaky and inconsistent. The last few years, I've been hesitant to jump on the "all we need is a better goalie" train of thought, but the writing is on the wall now. All you need to do is look at Labarbera's numbers to see it. Last year, he had a .910 save%, and a HIGHER GAA than he has this year. If he's making the same amount of saves as last year, we're a much, much better team. He is really fighting it right now and he needs a break.

the game was technically "radio only" from a Kings standpoint, but I am told the CBC Flames broadcast was on -- I wasn't home so I'm not sure the channel.

as upset as I am for the team / Labs on the GWG, I was much more angry at him on the first goal, which means we wouldn't have had to try to come back and score 3 in the last two periods against one of the best goalies in the league. either way he pretty much shot our chances again.

just one start for Ersberg. what, we're gonna put this AHL guy between the posts 82 times? as all of us have discussed - that's not gonna work - let alone happen.

I really thought we played a terrific game and deserved 2 points. If we play the same way we did tonight, we'll win our fair share of the games this year. We ran into a hot goalie in Kiprisoff. He made spectacular saves and was in position all night.
There was nothing lacking in the Kings effort tonight. I felt after the game that the Kings are a stud goalie away from becoming a really good team. There was no quit after giving up the go ahead goal. Pressings effort on keeping the puck in the zone late was incredible heads up play and almost resulted in the tying goal. Moller was sensational..Kopitar had his best game. Doughty was his usual great self. I still can't believe he's a rookie.

Unfortunately, this one falls on Barbs. He has to make that save on the winning goal. He did make a couple of great saves..at least one I can remember, but when your team plays this well in front of you, you owe it to the team to get them the points they deserved. As I watched the game, I knew it was going to take a herculean effort to beat Kiprisoff. I just had that feeling in my stomach that Barbs would give up an easy one and he did.

It's ok...as I've said many times, its more important for the team in front of the goalie to continue to improve. The guy between the pipes is exactly what he shows us every night. Average goalie at best. He's not the future for the Kings.

i have to agree with most everything i am reading. i am frustrated with jason. i am happy he is eating better. i am happy he lost weight. he will live a longer healthier life. but he is still the same mediocre (at best) goaltender he was before. he fails in the fundementals. brent said it right above. everyone on the team talks about how the pesky puck went in off of two players and three bounces. do you know why? because he gives up way too many rebounds. kipper - nothing. kipper made 35 saves. he had fewer rebounds than jason's 18 saves. 3-6-1 after 10 games. 5 one goal losses. your goalie has to steal a game or two over the course of a season. jason has not stolen a game for the kings in a couple of seasons.

i don't understand tm's fascination for jason. if he was 6-3-1, yes, absolutely stick with him. but he's not. and i don't agree that he is getting better. it is absolutely the opposite. he is getting worse. his goals against and save % are increasing and falling respectively.

it is time for erik to play. tm is going to kill this team like crawford did playing cloutier over and over again. at this pace the kings will set the record for most one goal losses in a season. tm says that he is playing jason so much because he wants a true #1 and the schedule is favorable with all of the home games early. 3-6-1 overall. 0-3-1 in the last 4 games. 0-2-1 on this current home stand. favorable? give me a break. tm has done some pretty good things defensively with the team. but i can't for the life of me understand why he will not make a goalie change.

ersberg may end up sucking even worse - though i doubt that. but give the guy a chance. if it does not work out then give barbs another shot or bring in quick. my real fear is that tm is going to lose the players. that's what happened with crawford.

Hwats frustrating is that you're playing goalie on a team full of young guys and veterans that are working their tails off to improve this franchises identity, and bring some success and pride back, but no matter how much effore and sweat they leave out on the ice, they walkaway from the rink losers because their goalie cant be there when he needs to be. I think the kids deserve a real goalie. It's not LaBarberas fault.. it appears to be AEG's fault.

nykingan,

If that was Kopitar's best game then he is a LLLOOOONNNNGGGGG way from being where he should be. He is continuously being beaten for loose pucks, does not protect the puck well on the boards and can't seem to carry the puck up the neutral zone. I agree that babs should have made the save but Kopitar had control of the puck behind the net and he just gave it away to Bertuzzi and was just poor defensively as he allowed Bertuzzi a clean pass to the front of the net.

I was watching Crawford after the game and he had a lot of great things to say about the Kings and the future of the organization. I was waiting for a cheep shot in there somewhere but it never came. He showed true professionalism. Also on After Hours Kopitar looked a little uncomfortable sitting next to Crawford, that had to be a little nerve wracking.

Did nobody else see Doughty get beaten like a rented mule on Langkow's game winner? Bad mistake. It cost the team a point.
Boyle needs to play every night. He's proven absolutely nothing but if he plays all year and isn't up to speed, he's done. End of story.
Simmonds needs to go to Jrs or AHL, or wherever he would be sent, to incubate at least 1 more year. We know he's NHL quality, but there are others we don't know about yet. Simmonds is not making enough of an impact right now to justify not letting the other guys, who are older, to not make that impact.
Moller is a great player. The NHL is where he belongs right now. Let's spend this season finding out if Boyle, Purcell, Tukon...ooops, Cliche, Gauthier, or Lewis are NHLers or AHLers.

I think the NHL has figured out the instigator rule. Ivan needs to start abusing the other teams top forwards (which means he needs to be paired with a SOLID center and a Solid winger) in order to foment rage in the opposition's big boys. Or, we need that pest who will drive them over the edge. Quisp said Clune could be that guy. Let's see. And don't try it with Zeiler, Murray.

Terry Murray - Does anyone else see those RED FLAGS I was speaking of 2 weeks ago? If the team can outplay Detroit and Calgary in the same week with all the juggling going on, imagine what they could be doing if they had set lines, even if they are unbalanced?

So, out of the 6 regulations losses, we should have at least one point out of 4 of them. That's right, we out-played our opponents 4 out of the 6 losses. So, is this team finding a way to lose or what? I guess I'd rather see that then the last few seasons where the team lost just because they sucked. Well, its a long season, and sooner or later those games are going to have to start resulting in W's.

So there are lies, damn lies, and statistics, but at some point the numbers have to mean something. With a save % of .884 for the season, Barbs is doing poorly. And as for him getting better, the numbers just don't back up that claim: His last five games have been worse %-wise than his first five games: .857, .778, .919, .8, and 1 (a shutout) for an average of .871. So even with a shutout, his #s have gone down.

And on a more intangible level, HE'S NOT CLUTCH, and as we've heard so oft, clutch is everything. Can't come up with the big save, and was totally out of his league during the shoot-out v. Detroit.

I'm waiting to see or hear a reason why Ersberg doesn't deserve a good run of games. Not A game, a run of games. JediKnight's right; this is looking like Crawford and Cloutier, out of sheer stubbornness, putting us in a hole that can't be gotten out of.

bringbackthesheild - Labs GAA was 3.02 before the game. He only gave up 3 last night. That's an improvement.

Even IF Ersberg turned out to be clutch, this team isn't going anywhere making these mistakes. It doesn't matter right now. Quit worrying about Labs and hope the mistakes by the skaters ends. Until they can play mistake-free hockey, they'll go nowhere. If that was a playoff game last night, every critic that knows hockey would have recognized why the game was lost: a mistake by Doughty.

I don't get why people don't understand this. We haven't been in the playoffs for so long we're forgetting that when you get there, most teams are fairly evenly matched. Whoever blinks, loses. When 2 strong teams meet, it comes down to errors. You can't make mistakes and expect to win. If Doughty doesn't get beaten there is never a shot on net to save. Langkow can't be left alone 1 foot in front of the goalie. Labs lost to Kiprusoff by 1 goal.

Cristobal, if he gave up 3 goals on 3 shots, would that mean it was an improvement still?

Also, what team plays mistake free Hockey?

The difference between our team and their team last night was the goalies, not our mistakes.

Every time Labs lets in a soft goal we should all post that "he (@$**) the bed" which he is literally doing. Start Ersberg and see where he takes the team. I think we've all known for a while that Labs isn't a #1 goalie. Maybe #2B at best. I mean the team is a lot better defensively than last year at points we keep teams under 20 shots per game. But, it's always that weak goal that blows it for the team. Also that attitude about getting Tavares or Hedman should stop. The Kings are at the point where they need to make the playoffs to get these younger guys experience. How many top first round picks do you need before you can start winning? I think DL has done a good job of stocking picks and prospects like we never had before but, this team needs to get to that next level in order to know what it takes to be a winner.

"Until they can play mistake-free hockey, they'll go nowhere."

Wrong. Mistake-free hockey is impossible. That's why they say, "it's the second mistake that will kill you." The goal is not to play mistake-free; it's to back each other up. As I said on the other thread, three mistakes caused that goal. Three.

someonewhocares - I don't remember Calgary making any mistakes last night. Did they give up a 2 on 1? Allow unchecked snipers shots from in close? Breakdown defensively on penalty kills? The Kings got 2 favorable bounces to score, that's it. They haven't earned a nice goal since midway through the Detroit game.

Quisp - You're completely wrong. Right down to the cliche. I may have heard "it's the second mistake that will kill you" before in all the years that I've been watching sports, but i don't remember it. They don't say,"if you don't fall on a fumble, it'll kill you." They say "don't fumble." They don't say "if you don't tackle the guy who intercepted the pass, it'll kill you. They say, "don't throw interceptions." Mistake free hockey is possible and the Kings proved it in St. Louis.

If Doughty hesitated to take complete responsibility for that goal I would say he's lying to himself. Let's get Rich to ask the players and coaches.

"mistake free hockey" is possible? Have you ever WATCHED a hockey game Cristobal? It's not about not making mistakes. It's about limiting your mistakes and not allowing them to beat you. Every coach in every sport will tell you that if they have to lose, they want to get beaten by the other team, not by their own mistakes. So "mistake free hockey" is a fantasy.

But I guess I shouldn't have expected anything different from the guy who thinks Jason LaBarbara is the second coming of Patrick Roy. :rolleyes:

Cristobal -

You don't know what you're talking about. Don't assume that just because you don't see a mistake that there wasn't one.

As far as my being "completely wrong" about the "Second Mistake Theory" (as it will now be known), there isn't a coach on the planet who doesn't know exactly what I'm talking about. Anyone who has ever spent any time in front of a chalkboard (okay, dry-erase, then) knows what I'm talking about.

To call the Kings' performance in St. Louis "mistake-free" means nothing other than to generalize your definition of mistake to the point of meaninglessness. Mistakes happen all the time, on practically every play. What good teams do is recover.

How does that work? I'll tell you: there are layers of coverage. That's why it took three mistakes to let that goal happen, not one. In your argument about Doughty, you're arguing against a "straw man." Nobody said Doughty didn't make a mistake. Nobody said Doughty doesn't think he made a mistake. By definition, if he didn't make that mistake, that goal doesn't go in. If any of the three mistakes don't happen, there is no goal.

If you don't think Calgary made any mistakes last night, how is it that Moller ended up with the puck in the middle of the slot for his second goal? That is a break-down in coverage.

Quisp - Moller's 2 goals were fortunate bounces of the puck. A blocked shot landed on his stick and Kipp was out of position because the shot got blocked. Did Kipp make a mistake? No. He can't be in two places at once. Did the D make a mistake because they didn't know where the puck would end up after being blocked? No. Sometimes goals are fortunate bounces, a great pass, or a great shot. There doesn't have to be a GOAT on every goal.

Also, I googled "it's the second mistake that will kill you." Nothing.

Paul O' Oxnard - I've played many mistake free games myself, and as I said, Calgary was generally mistake free, not completely, but the Kings vs. St. Louis 8 days ago was about as mistake free as I've ever seen the Kings play. They gave St. Louis nothing. Maybe nobody in LA is used to mistake-free hockey, but it happens. Now I realize you may take things TOO literally, so maybe I should clarify what I mean. I'm not talking about making a poor pass in the neutral zone, I'm talking about errors that lead to scoring opportunities, goals, or dangerous situations. When Kopitar doesn't anticipate the defender being lost on the play behind him and that Bertuzzi is going to make a blind backhanded pass, it doesn't constitute a mistake - it constitutes a pass that gets through because there'd be no reason to make it if the coverage is there. Bertuzzi SAW Langkow break free, and spit the puck to an area that would have been innocuous if the defense holds.

Nice hyperbole on my Labs point of view. If you don't want to debate it, why put words in my mouth?

Google. Who did he coach for?

Moller's second goal was a missed assignment. The Calgary center got lost. Check it out.

I can see, Cristobal, that we're operating under different definitions of "mistake." You seem to be using the word to refer only to fatal errors, game-changing f***-ups, and the like. When I use the word "mistake" I am referring to missed assignments or poor execution (of a shot, pass, check, line-change, etc.).

Still, using your definition, no one player made a mistake to cause that goal. It took three compounded mistakes by three players.

OK Quisp, i've self-therapised and come back to shore. But I still see that I'm the only one who brought up Doughty's mistake. If you want to Crucify Labs for being average or criticize Kopi for his play (he's an all-star on every shift he plays) you're just adding fuel to the misdirected frustration. I'm trying to defend sticking with Labs for the first 15-20 games because I believe that he hasn't been the goat everyone says he's been and that even if he starts 20 games in a row to start the season, it leaves Ersberg 62 (124 points) to prove himself. I'm preaching patience and trying to point out that Labs wasn't the one who screwed that up. We've had at least 2 points lost in the last 5 minutes of games this week. There have been far too many errors by the skaters, not the goalie, that have been responsible for it.

Moller's second goal was a bounce. Langkow, coincidentally, was the player who blocked the shot and it bounced right to Moller. The shot from the point is partially blocked by Borque's stick and knuckles off Langkow's skates right on to Moller's tape. There is no mistake of positioning. Bang, bang, fortunate bounce...

I brought up Doughty's mistake; or at least I acknowledged it. It's obvious, as mistakes go. No point in pretending it didn't happen.

I'm all for giving JLB his shot. I like Murray's plan of giving him a chunk of games to prove himself. So far, he's not doing so well. But I'm in favor of the plan.

As far as your self-therapy, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. It's almost as though I made a comment about therapy, but for the life of me I can't find it anywhere. Why, it's as though it never happened...

(but, if I had said such a thing, what I might have been trying to say is, when I say someone made a mistake, I am not saying they are hircine.)

Welcome to the Club, Quisp. We've been waiting for you...
I think that though we might BUT HEADS sometimes, our KIDding around buries all the hatchets, like in that CAPRA movie.

Quisp, I think sometimes we argue about things we agree on. We're both stubborn as billygoats.

You know I'm not trying to jump on Doughty for making a mistake, though, right? I'm only trying to cool the heat on Labs because I still don't think he's had a truly bad goal. I can see that he's not a No. 1 guy right now, but too many times the Kings have given up on players that didn't get a fair shot to gain confidence in their abilities at this level and found a good home elsewhere. Arguably, Potvin and Burke have been our best netminders over the last 13 years and they were both castaways. The game winner last night was, in my opinion, once again unfairly laid at the feet of Labs and I'm trying to convince the harsh critics that the way Murray is handling it is the right way. It's a philosophy-thing so it doesn't mean it's the only thing to do, but he said from the start that it would be a heavy load for Labs early in the season, and I completely support following through with that. The concurrent problem, I think, is that with the skaters he doesn't seem to be consistent or fair - though I have acknowledged that this is all from the perspective of an outsider who has no idea what goes on inside.
Like you said, I agree that we may have been using "mistake" in two senses.

cheers Quisp. I still love the debates.

This is getting ridiculous with the semantics back and forth. Bad passes occur every single night in the NHL by every single team. Sometimes they lead to scoring chances, sometimes they don't. Doughty's mistake led to a scoring chance..BUT Barbs should have made the save. there's no if, and, or buts about it. A good goalie keeps his team in the game at that point by making the save. We can blame the forwards and the defense, but at some point the goalie needs to take a little heat. We're keeping teams to a low shot total most nights. That's a huge improvement over last season. We're still giving up scoring chances, but those will continue to diminish as guys get comfortable playing with each other and guys like Doughty gain experience. We need the goalie to make the big save in the big spot. Batbs didn't do that and we lost the game.
I've been a supporter of LaBarbara and thought Murray was right in giving him the opportunity, but now Ersberg does deserve the chance to prove himself. LaBarbara has nobody to blame but himself. Every successful team in hockey has a goalie that bailes out his team when they make mistakes. We don't!

nykingsfan - It was ALL Doughty's responsibility on that last goal. Period. Everyone is in a panic and I would expect for those that supported Lombardi before to be level-headed about what's going on now. If you bring 18 year old defensemen in and have 3 or 4 players in the lineup with under 15 games of experience, you're team is going to lose some games because of the mistakes they make. I would think people who have played hockey would have some perspective and realize that we gave up 2 games in the final 3 minutes because the young guys are making their mistakes. THis was always supposed to happen. How can you really blame Labarbara. Not only that, Kopitar and Brown are playing better than they ever have, but since they're not leading the league in points and goals everyone is saying they are underachieving. If you were Doughty the other night, could you really allow Labs to take the blame for hanging him out to dry like that?

The team has fallen off sharply offensively and is still making huge errors at the back. Why the 2 best players on the team and Labs take all the heat is beyond me.

Exactly what about last season, and the exodus of established players, led you to believe the Kings were going to be a successful team at this point?