No Lundqvist tonight
You'd have to say the Kings are catching a break tonight, as the Rangers will start Steve Valiquette, not Henrik Lundqvist, in goal tonight. Not that Valiquette is bad...he's 3-2 with a 2.50 goals-against average, and he's coming off a 27-save, 3-2 victory over Atlanta one week ago.
Jason LaBarbera will start for the Kings, and face his first team. LaBarbera's NHL debut came in 2000-01 with the Rangers.
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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.
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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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how did he do when he was with the rangers?
It doesn't surprise me that the Kings are getting the Rangers backup. I'm sure the Rangers think just like their fans. That the Kings aren't a worthy opponent for King Henrik.
Kings win 5-2. The Rangers have struggled to put the puck in the net all year. And they don't have Sundin YET...
Obviously the Rangers are not intimidated nor afraid of Barbi.
That's why they're comfortable with sending their scrub.
Well, hopefully it won't go to a shootout.
If we ask real nice, maybe they'll let Lundqvist start for us!?!
KINGS 7 : 4 .GO KINGS GO !!!
Rich,
Any chance you could ask Lombardi whether he'd ever consider talking with former Ranger Brendan Shanahan about a contract for the rest of the season? And if he'd make a move for a goalie?
Both of these I would imagine would be contingent on us being in the playoff race.
Thanks.
and, of course, in the little known facts department: Valiquette was drafted by YOUR LOS ANGELES KINGS in 1996... he went to the Isles organization not soon after, and began his journeyman-like career. Not a bad goalie... he could come up big tonight.
A former Rangers No. 1 pick would be an interesting guy to think about. Al Montoya.
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/alvaro_montoya
His current stats are rubbish, but he was injured (i think) and may be finding his way back on a poor team.
Also, Tampa has a prospect named Dustin Tokarski who's a big favorite of "WrapAroundCurl's" blog matriarch.
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/dustin_tokarski
Is that why the sharks started their backup when facing Iceberg
MOST teams start their backup when playing bottom feeder teams...
We will win tonight!!! We haven't earned the right yet to face the other teams best goalie on back-to-back games. I'm personally happy about that right now. Better chance of getting two points. Lundqvist in his last 5 or so games has been giving up tons of goals. I'm still glad we're not facing him. N.Y. is good, but I think they're a bit overrated. 3 to 1 Kings. Come on LaBarb, let's have a good game.
@Marc Nathan: If the Kings win tonight, they move into 7th in the conference. I wouldn't call that bottom feeding.
I'm sure LaBarbera is going to make them regret the very day they let him go!! ::borat:: NNNNOOOOTTTTTT
believe me Paul from Oxnard, parity aside, when a team comes out and plays back to back against Anaheim and the Kings... the backup goalie will go against the Kings more often than not. The Kings have been "bottom feeders" for the better part of the last 20+ years... the occasional standings blip doesn't change that... and we'll see ya in March, from the bottom looking up. It's a guarantee. Pride = Passion = Power divided by LaBarbera = porous = pathetic times Ivanans = pointless.