Monday update

Why not give Bernier a look in one of those games since he is up anyway. Test him out. We are in last anyway...see where his game is at.

Rich,
So at this point the forward lines look like this?
Frolov - Kopitar - Simmonds
Calder - Stoll - Brown
O'Sullivan - Handzus - Zeiler
Ivanans - Armstrong - Westgarth

For the defense pairs, any word on what it'll look like? My guess would be...
Greene - Johnson
Quinceyl-Doughty
O'Donnell- Harrold

Back from Lake Arrowhead, not to soon.

TM is a punisher and a demoter.
The kind of person that amounts to a bad coach.
Now he's punishing Sully.
For being in a slump, he was not included in the shoot out.
TM lost the game for the kings. Had he put Sully during the shoot out they might have won. He didn't, so they lost.
Getting his message across to Sully was more important than winning the game.
Nice coaching Mr. Viagra.

This 90 year old is the worse coach in the history of the NHL, not just the worse in Kings history.

Tough test for Quick, back to back road games. I think Bernier should have a shot in the 2nd game as well; it would be good for him and the team.

Westgarth & Ivanans on the same line....That should be interesting...I doubt if anyone will goon it up with our kids with these two in the line-up together.

I would suspect they are both in there so they can stand up to Boogard. I would love to see what westgarth has fighting wise, but Ivanans has had experience and done well against Boogard in the past.

Anthony...dude, chill! You were supposed to go to Arrowhead for a little R & R, not come back and do age bashing. Give TM a little credit. While I'd certainly would have perferred to see Sully take the last shot in the shootout, it was his way of getting JMFJ in a pressure situation where he does thrive and has been successful in the past. JMFJ didn't get off a good shot; I think Sully probably would have beat Turco in that situation. However, you can't go after TM for every mistake the team makes, how did you ever tolerate Crow?

The Kings are much better off with TM. They're playing defense, something that has never been synonymous with LA. But dude, don't attack TM's age, it's insulting. He's far more experienced than most of the coaches in this league and has seen plenty of situations throughout his career. He's taken good young teams and made them better; that's the job he was hired to do in LA and so far, they're better overall.

I'll take experience any day of the week over youthful exuberance.

Anthony-
Sully is 3rd in ice time, with ZERO points in 5 games. How do you say he is punishing him? The lines posted are not by Rich. You dont know where he is going to skate. And if he is on the 3rd line, maybe it'll force him to go back to basics, since he isn't doing anything with the puck anyway.

And did you ever think, its not TM choosing the shootout skaters? Perhaps his Kompon? And did you read, like so many of us have, that they choose based on WHO DID WELL IN SHOOTOUTS AT PRACTICE?!?!

You make up more bad material then anyone, and are the single reason I do not want to even look at this blog. GO AWAY!

Looking forward to seeing Ivanans & Westgarth together. Hope they can get some energy going.

On a side note I was reading one of the Ducks blogs (somebody here at work showed me). Anyway they are all complaining about how Giguerre is not the goalie he used to be & how they want him traded & now they have no goaltending or defense. And they are also complaining about how the coach is changing their lines throughout the game. Pretty funny stuff. Sounds like our blog with the names & offense/defense switched around.

ahahaha Anthony your right TM lost the game for the kings cause he is the worst coach ever.......not, get over yourself dude. What if Sully was one of the shooters and he missed, then you would have just said some other bogus thing about TM.

I think you have some weird fetish of bashing TM which is kind of akward. And whats with you bashing his age? TM has been the best thing to happen to this team in a while, so you can keep bashing him like a complete baby while sitting behind your computer screen and he will continue to coach this team and do a good job at it.

I agree 100% with Barney. Give the kid a chance, ya never know what he'll do until he tries. Maybe his attitude and passion will bring some emotion to this emotionless team.

"Maybe his attitude and passion will bring some emotion to this emotionless team."

That's what they said about Avery in Dallas.

Bernier should only start if Quick has a bad game. He hasn't been earning his place in Manchester lately, let alone a chance with the Kings.

Anthony-
Sully is 3rd in ice time, with ZERO points in 5 games. How do you say he is punishing him? The lines posted are not by Rich. You dont know where he is going to skate. And if he is on the 3rd line, maybe it'll force him to go back to basics, since he isn't doing anything with the puck anyway.

And did you ever think, its not TM choosing the shootout skaters? Perhaps his Kompon? And did you read, like so many of us have, that they choose based on WHO DID WELL IN SHOOTOUTS AT PRACTICE?!?!

You make up more bad material then anyone, and are the single reason I do not want to even look at this blog. GO AWAY!

It would be unKingly to bring Bernier up and actually give him a shot.
Only if Quick falters will we see him this go round, i guess.

Westgarth better be careful if he gets involved with Bougaard. That man punched Todd Fedoryk's face into the back of his skull and nearly ended his career.
I'd hate to see Westgarth bite off more than he's prepared to chew in his 1st game.
The "elite" fighters in the NHL can be pretty dangerous.

You guys bashing Anthony, again with the GO AWAY stuff like it's YOUR blog, don't get it.
Aren't you supposed to reward the players that have been struggling through this season with the chance of STEALING 2 points instead of 1?
How has JJ EARNED (i hear so much about "you have to earn your opportunity") the right to take that SO chance?
Doesn't TM owe it to the guys who've been busting ass for the last 3 months to put that SO in their hands?
Is a point so worthless that he doesn't decide who's shooting?

I find it ironic that Tony Granato and Tocchet have outcoached Murray this season and yet you still think he's the cat's meow.
Both Tampa and Colorado are supposed to be starting rebuilds but they appear farther along ALREADY because they have coaches that HAVE PLAYED FORWARD IN THE NHL.
I'd take you back to the Detroit game and Dustin Brown's blown 1 on none with Conlklin(!!!) after a pass from Kopitar.
That 1 play could have GREATLY influenced that game, but it ended with frustration.
A coach that actually knows how to score NHL goals, and has done it before, would take Dustin aside and explain how he blew that opportunity...how he's gripping the stick too tight...how a goal scorer doesn't just bang at the puck, a goal scorer is patient and composed, a goal scorer WOULD have shown patience, received the pass, moved to the backhand, and tucked the puck into an empty net.
ALL THESE KIDS LACK IS BELIEF IN THEMSELVES.
MURRAY DOES NOT BELIEVE IN THEM AND HE DOESN'T BELIEVE THEY ARE CAPABLE OF THE PLAYOFFS.
Rather than making them defensive players, he should be turning them into COMPETITIVE players.

I like the idea of having Quick start back-to-back. Let's not give any free passes to Bernier. He has to earn it in the minors.

EAT THE RICH, Im sure Terry Murray knows what he is doing even that he has not played forward. The pass from Kopi was a little to late but maybe another great player would have scored. If dustin needs some advice how to score goals he can just go into the office of Luuuuuuuuuuuuc and ask him but Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuc is maybe not a good enough player for you?????

Agree with Johnny here... Bernier is in LA to fill a spot and that spot is a clear cut backup. As much as I'm anxious for Bernier to become our #1 goalie he hasn't earned anything thus far this season. I'd prefer to see him get a chance that he's earned.

Folks, How did Quick "earn" his chance, other than the injury? And Avery..Bernier? Avery is a psycho..Bernier is a 20-year old kid that wants a shot at the big times.

Quick has had similar AHL stats. Other than the seniority thing, which is exactly how the Kings' management have proceeded thus far, why doesn't Bernier deserve a shot just as Quick has?

To add to my post, if Bernier starts, and sucks, he can always go back to Man. He'll be back there anyway, unless he proves to be the second coming of Brodeur.

Nicely said Kevin! I also come here less due to Anthony's discriminatory ranting, while I love the Kings and the quality reporting found here, references to old age/viagra etc are just not ok in any forum.

Judge not lest ye be judged.

Eat, I'm really lost on the "Bernier doesn't deserve a shot" thing that people seem to be stuck on. Isn't that what we've done for the other goalies that are playing currently?

JLB got way more chances than he deserved, Ersberg got a chance, Quick was called up on emergency, played well, and is still playing.
None of these guys have been deemed "a starter" by TM. So, why in the world don't we want to see JB's stuff, just for a game this season? I'd think we'd want to get a glimpse of where these youngsters stand each season.

Just watched the Red Wings game in the NHL Game Center archive. It was the Red Wings feed, which was interesting for the perspective. They referred to Terry Murray as doing an "outstanding" job this season, for one thing. I don't think I need to comment on the glaring defensive errors by Gauthier (twice), Preissing and Boyle which led to Detroit goals. Here's what leaped out at me about the game.

The Kings were solid for the first half of the first period, in fact outplaying the Red Wings. They had several excellent scoring chances, Frolov, then Brown (from Kopitar, who -- for some reason on a two-on-zero -- was skating himself into a worse and worse angle), then, finally Purcell. All three were grade A+ chances. The Detroit announcers, in reviewing the game, commented that after Conklin's save on Purcell, the Red Wings out-chanced the Kings 17-3.

17-3.

Now, what this tells me is, the Kings had three excellent chances, were playing with the wind at their backs, but when they were stopped several times in a row, they freaked themselves out, as if saying, "uh oh, we're never going to score." So they stopped moving their feet. And they never really got another good chance. Or maybe they did, but the entire tenor of the game changed. This is not a system problem. This is a psychology problem.

My personal observation is that Murray's system allows for a fairly open style of offensive play (not "wide open" but still quite a bit of speed is built up on attack, and chances are generated on transition).

After the Kopitar-Brown two-on-zero, the Detroit announcer said, "oh, they have to bury that one. They're not going to get any more like that." And, boy, that was true, wasn't it? If the Kings score once in the first, it's a different game. And they should have.

But since they didn't, they could have made up for it by keeping their feet moving. They didn't. So they lost. Look at the San Jose/Detroit game. What was it, 6-5? Goals happen when you keep playing hard. Those are two solid defensive teams.

I'm not against Bernier getting some time while he's here.
I'd prefer it if Ersberg were 100% before he went back in net.
So, if they want to play him, I've no problem with it.
I think they should have sent Labs to Manch., though.
If he got claimed, it's no loss because we wanted to go young anyway and another team is forced to use their waiver-wire position to make the claim. If he makes it to Manchester, you can leave him there to backup whatever prospect you want starting the majority of games. He helps us get better just by playing his best and helping to mentor any young goalie down there. If an NHL team wants him, they can ante up more than a 7th, then, because you're under no impetus to move him because he's actually helping us out while he's here.
That's my reasoning.
I don't think its too "out there."
Instead we helped Vancouver get through an injury bug.
Labs got 6 of the first 8 points he played for.
Now, he's their backup and he's a capable one.
Not to mention, we just lost another shootout without Labs in our net.
Some things take a while to change....
Also, we've been flying goalies all over the place.
I hope someone gets all those frequent flyer miles.

Quisp.

With all due respect to the Detroit announcers, they watch the Redwings, not the Kings. And we're 1 point ahead of St. Louis right now.
While I don't remember Boyle's "glaring error," I do remember the 4th line and the 3rd defensive pairing being on the ice for the umpteenth time, and another negative outcome from it. Was that twice in one game they (those 5) got scored upon?

It also highlights the insanity of NOT playing Handzus on such a weak defensive line.

I'd just ask you to consider what it does to the skilled guys on this team when they are asked to play defense first, they go out working hard at both ends, and the coach flushes the game down the toilet by throwing on the five weakest players on the team. Goal Redwings, game undone.

What don't you get about this?

It's coaching that is the problem.

We have regressed in every aspect of the game since Nov. 15th.

Ersberg...Well said and agreed.

Each of our young goalies got their "chance" due to an injury and played like they belonged. The same goes for Bernier. If he can play NHL caliber, why not keep him up? Granted, the Kings would then have a three way log jam and a goalie problem in reverse from what we had at the beginning of the season. Still tho, a nice problem to have. In the end, Rich is probably right. If they all pan out, it gives DL some leeway in getting some picks and/or a front line scorer (my guess, he'll take the picks). How did Bernier get his chance last year? He earned it in camp. How can he earn his spot this year? By proving himself up with the big club. That's the only way he's going to get his chance. Not in the AHL with a porous defense playing in front of him but with the Kings in the NHL, the same as Ersberg, Quick and yes, even JLB did.