SB Nation - Erik Ersberg

Kings-Sharks Recap: Booyah!

RudyKelly — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:26:05 -0000

More photos » by George Nikitin - AP

I take it all back: I love Evgeni Nabokov on the Sharks. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

First thought: woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Drew Doughty is awesome. His assist to get Kopitar off the schneid was a beautiful play. He patiently held onto the puck until the Sharks overcommitted then slid the puck between two defenders to a wide open Kopitar. His goal was just straight heat. I always thought it was kind of bullshit when he talked about how he felt more comfortable because he changed his stick blade, but maybe that actually worked.

-Ted Purcell, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown all broke 10+ game droughts. Good thing the Sharks had a shitty goalie in, otherwise they still might be waiting for their goal.

-You know who's good? Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

-You know who's not? Erik Ersberg.

-Michal Handzus had a pretty bad game, picking up 3 particularly brutal penalties. The Kings managed to win the special teams battle, however, and staved off the powerful San Jose power play. The Kings penalty kill still kind of sucks by the percentages, but it should be better and hopefully this game is a sign that it's going to start improving.

-The Kings have another tough game tomorrow night against the Coyotes, although Ed Jovanovski is suspended for tomorrow's game because the NHL head office still doesn't understand Pronger physics. Quick will be in for that game, so it should be a good one.

-The Kings are 3 points out of 1st in the Pacific. Just saying.

Final thought: wooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back-To-Back Is Back! Canucks-Kings Preview

Sean Zandberg — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:15:09 -0000

We know who the real kings are.

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Kings (13-9-2, 6th in West) vs Canucks (12-11-0, 11th in West)

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST

TV: Canucks PPV

The Enemy: Battle of California

UPDATE (2:13 PM): Rick Rypien has a sore hand because Ben Eager's ugly face hit it last game. If he isn't good to go, Darcy Hordichuk will take his spot tonight.

UPDATE (12:00 AM): Sami Salo's ice-time has been reduced lately, but he's not giving up. You may be surprised at what else he has to say.

***********************

"They played a real slow-the-game," Murray said, "five guys back at their own blue line kind of a game, and took a lot of the emotion and speed out of the game. That was a good strategy by them. It was a good plan."

That is what Kings coach Terry Murray said of the Canucks' play the last time these 2 teams faced eachother in late October, where the Canucks won 2-1 in a shootout. Vancouver shut down the Kings' top line and limited L.A.'s prime scoring opportunities. Andrew Raycroft stopped 30 of 31 shots and was the first star of the game. Mikael Samuelsson scored the tying goal and the winning goal in the shootout.

Once again, the Canucks get to play a team that is playing in a back-to-back scenario, and Vancouver is coming off an extended layoff. This really has to play a role in the outcome of this game. There is no reason for the Canucks not to maintain a strong consistent effort against the Kings. The Kings beat

the Oilers 3-1 last night after a 4-day layoff. Their top line (Kopitar-Williams-Brown) was kept off the scoresheet, but guys like Frolov and Simmonds responded. Anze Kopitar played over 23:00 in that game, second only to Jack Jerkson, I mean Johnson.

I read somewhere that after the Kings lost to Flames on Saturday, the Kings had played 24 games in 50 days, and that was the second-most grueling schedule in the NHL this season behind San Jose. Cry me a river. The Canucks have played 23 games in 52 days. STFU. That being said...

Now that the long layoffs are over the Canucks will play 6 games in the next 10 nights and 14 games in the next 27 nights. They will play back-to-back games 3 times between now and January 2nd. The longest layoff will be a 4-day rest at Xmas time. Perfect! We'll be too busy shoving turkey and salad down our throats and putting up with family to care! Yeah, there is going to be a lot of Canucks hockey from now until the Olympic Break. Ole!

No Ryan Smyth in the Kings' lineup tonight and that is a good thing, as he not only is a smaller, feistier version of Dustin Byfuglyen, he also had 24 points in 23 games in the Kings' top line.The Kings are now 1-2 without him.

A bit more about the Kings:

-they are Alyssa Milano's favorite hockey team. Yeah, she told me that on Twitter, yes I'm bragging. Damn she has bad taste.

-the Kings rank just a bit higher than the Canucks in goals per game.

-they allow more goals per game than we do. (rank 25th...are you listening Wellwood?)

-the Canucks are better than the Kings at even strength.

-Vancouver ranks better than the Kings on the powerplay.

-the Kings and Canucks both suck at killing penalties, with Vancouver holding a slight advantage.

-L.A. averages less shots per game than we do.

-The Kings and Canucks both allow a lot of shots per game on average, both in the bottom 10 in the category with the Kings being worse.

-The Kings lick in the faceoff category, where the Canucks don't.

Keep an eye out for updates at the top of this post as game time draws near. Let's see if Bolduc replaces Wellwood or not. You never know. That noose is getting tight around Woody's neck right now.

Are the Kings going to rest Jon Quick and play Erik Ersberg in a back-to-back scenario? Let's hope so!

See? There is no reason why we can't hand these guys their asses tonight. No excuses at all.

Don't forget to add your score prediction in the comments thread. 1 point for guessing the right score, 1 point for guessing the right team, and 1 point for guessing who scores the game winner. Not as easy as it sounds. After 2 games nobody has a single point yet! Somewhere Nostradamus is rolling in his grave.

Kings Roofie Hurricanes, 5-2

RudyKelly — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0000

More photos » by Karl B DeBlaker - AP

There are 4 faces in this picture and they are all hilarious. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

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-The Kings defeated the Carolina Hurricanes last night, 5-2, on the backs of Alexander Frolov and Randy "The Date Rapist" Jones*. The game was close until the middle of the third but the outcome was never really in doubt; the Kings were pushing the action almost the entire game and simply had more skill than the depleted Hurricanes line-up.

*What the hell kind of sleaze bag is this guy? He has some sort of weird crusty mustache thing going on. He just looks like the type of guy that enjoys taking girls' virginity. I get the feeling he and Justin Williams would not look out of place at the party Jennifer Connelly provided the entertainment for at the end of Requiem for a Dream.

Alexander Frolov had 2 assists on the night, a pretty fake slap shot and pass to Justin Williams that led to Randy "High School Gym Teacher" Jones' goal, and another beautiful assist on Wayne Simmonds' goal to ice the game. Frolov collected the puck behind the Hurricanes net and faked like he was going to take it out wide; when the defenders came to him, he slipped it between them to a wide open Meat Train in front of the net. It was a solid night all around for Frolov and he was congratulated on his play by Terry Murray after the game... wait, no he wasn't. What a surprise.

Randy "Your Girlfriend's Co-Worker who Always Touches Her Back" Jones, meawhile, ended up with 2 points on the night in his Kings debut. Jones filled in for Sean O'Donnell, which makes sense since Sean O'Donnell is old and could probably use a break every now and then. The Kings will still use O'Donnell most of the time because he's their rock on the penalty kill and provides security for the rest of the Kings' defenders, but it's nice to know the Kings have someone like Randy "Guy Who Volunteers to Ref AYSO Games Even Though He Has No Kids" Jones to help out on defense if someone gets hurt.

Erik Ersberg played last night in Jonathan Quick's stead and was... okay, I guess. He allowed 2 goals on 24 shots, but the first goal was pretty bad to let in. I'll let him slide on the 2nd, since it was more of a screw up by the defense than Ersberg that led to the goal. He didn't play well enough to justify playing him over Jonathan Quick, but he played well enough to at least let Quick know that he needs to step it up.

Overall, the Kings won a game they should win. Hooray! Now on to a game I am really stoked for: the Thrashers, tomorrow night. Just think of it: Kopitar v. Kovalchuk (if he plays); Doughty v. Bogosian; Fro v. Maxim; Randy Jones v. her unwillingness to drink anything offered to her. Should be an awesome game.

All eyes on the Monster

James Mirtle — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:33:02 -0000

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Jonas Gustavsson has made quite an impression here in Toronto so far, essentially rescuing the Leafs goaltending situation after returning from a groin injury. His save percentage is up to .918, he has a winning record and Toronto's on as much of a roll as you can be on after winning three out of seven games (3-0-4).

Tonight, the Monster will likely go head-to-head with Niklas Backstrom, which is the subject of my latest yarn at globesports.com. Along with Jonas Hiller, Antti Niemi and Erik Ersberg, Gustavsson and Backstrom are part of a new trend we're seeing postlockout where older free agent goalies from Europe are stepping in and winning NHL jobs (often without time in the minors).

One of the things I did for the piece was look back over the recent history of where goaltenders are coming from, and over the past decade, the number of Europeans in the crease has slowly but steadily risen. This season, as many as half of the starters in the league could be from overseas (depending on who ends up in the No. 1 role):

Anaheim: Jonas Hiller
Atlanta: Ondrej Pavelec
Calgary: Miikka Kiprusoff
Chicago: Cristobal Huet
Edmonton: Nikolai Khabibulin
Florida: Tomas Vokoun
Minnesota: Niklas Backstrom
Montreal: Jaroslav Halak
Nashville: Pekka Rinne
N.Y. Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist
Phoenix: Ilya Bryzgalov
San Jose: Evgeni Nabokov
Tampa Bay: Antero Niittymaki
Toronto: Jonas Gustavsson
Washington: Semyon Varlamov

It used to be that Dominik Hasek and Arturs Irbe were anomalies in the crease, with their funny helmets and unique playing styles, but not anymore. And with Gustavsson's success so far, it'll be interesting to see if the demand for the latest great goalie in Sweden or Finland continues next summer.

Rangers News and Notes: GameDay Edition

Joe Fortunato — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:05:13 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

2 months ago: The New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-2 in an NHL hockey game Monday, Oct. 12, 2009, in New York, the Rangers' fifth win in a row. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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Here is your news and notes for the day, sorry that it's a little light.

Steve Zipay is reporting that the Kings will start backup goalie Erik Ersberg tonight:

Reports from L.A. media say backup G Erik Ersberg is expected to start against Rangers 2nite. It would be his season debut. He was 8-11-5 , 2.64 GAA last year....

I don't think this changes the game plan at all.

Steve Zipay is also saying that Henrik Lundqvist will be getting the start tonight seeing as how his most recent blog post title says "Lundqvist in." He also says that Donal Brashear might take a seat to Aaron Voros:

Rangers lineup looks the same as Monday's against the Leafs, with possible switch of Aaron Voros for Donald Brashear on fourth line. Brashear skated briefly, but is sore, according to coach John Tortorella. IMO, why not give Brash a breather?

Again curious to see Voros getting some time, but apparently John Tortorella likes what he sees from them.

Click after the jump for more news and notes.

Our good friend Andrew Gross has given us some line combinations for tonight:

Vinny Prospal-Brandon Dubinsky-Marian Gaborik
Christopher Higgins-Chris Drury-Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery-Artem Anisimov-Enver Lisin
Donald Brashear/Aaron Voros-Brian Boyle-Ales Kotalik
Wade Redden-Matt Gilroy
Michael Del Zotto-Michal Rozsival
Marc Staal-Dan Girardi

No surprises here, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I still like Sean Avery on the third line although it is a little interesting to see Ales Kotalik on the fourth line. I guess he will see a lot of power play time, but John Tortorella is still looking for a spot for him to stick.

Also check out this story here about Wade Redden in the New York Post. It's good stuff.

The Kings will be a tough team to beat tonight. Should be a good one. Remember to come to the live thread at 7 and remember no sites where you can access the game! Thanks guys and see you soon.

Kings Gameday- Ballistic: Sleek vs. Kelly

RudyKelly — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:01:22 -0000

Los Angeles Kings vs. Phoenix Coyotes

7:30 PST, Fox Sports West

Left to right: Earl, Rudy, Rudy's pec's

As you all know, Earl and I hate one another. Maybe it was the time I slept with his sister, or the time I slept with his mom, or the time I slept with him... the point is, we don't like each other. We begrudgingly work together because, for some reason, ranting and cursing only goes well when it's balanced by puns and cartoons. Things finally boiled over recently, however, and we almost came to blows. Cooler heads prevailed (his, because I would destroy him) and we settled our latest disagreement with a bet.

The bet is simple: if the Kings finish higher than the Ducks, I win.

If the Ducks finish higher than the Kings, I don't win.

It's the 2nd greatest bet of all time, behind the bet in Can't Hardly Wait (I'm Freddy Prinze, Jr.). The terms of the bet? Simple, yet devastating: sig change. If I win, Earl has to change his signature to something embarrassing for the entire off-season. If Earl doesn't lose, I have to change my sig to something like, "The only things smoother than Corey Perry's skating skills are his balls on my chin."

And this is where you come in.

We are asking you, our smokin' hot readers, to come up with some ideas for good signatures that I one of us will wear in shame at the end of the season. Post your ideas in the comments and we'll have a vote when I one of us loses in April. My original idea for Earl was, "I sure do deserve a 'pun'ch to the face," but I know you can do better.

-The Kings have decided their 4th line for tonight's game and I'm this close to being excited. They're playing Brad Richardson at center, Trevor Lewis at right wing... and Ivanans at left. Whatever. I'm still trying to run down whether or not Trevor Lewis is a wing or a center, since he's always played center but has switched over to wing this entire preseason. Oh, if only anyone important returned my e-mails!

-The Kings have a new goal song, finally ridding us of that atrocious song that has plagued rinks across the country. (You know the one, the one that kind of sucks.) They basically ripped off the "Hey! Hey! Hey hey hey!" part of the Rangers' goal song, which is fine because that is the best part of the best goal song in the world. Hey!

-If Shane Doan and Ryan Smyth collide while battling in the corner, do they turn into maple syrup?

-Speaking of Smyth, I don't know how to boo without sounding like the old lady from Princess Bride so I'm not sure how to properly show my displeasure towards him. I'm thinking I might give him the snoot salute. "Boo, Ryan Smyth, and again I say boo!"

-There's still no concrete word on what the special team lines are going to be, so it'll be interesting to see what the Kings throw out tonight. On the penalty kill I think the Kings will run Stoll-Brown and Handzus-Frolov units, with Kopitar, Williams, and Simmonds getting minutes if needed. It's interesting, the Kings have like 9 guys that can play short-handed. Oh, that's not interesting? Scew you buddy.

On the power play, I imagine the Kings will run Smyth-Kopitar-Brown-Doughty-Stoll, with Frolov-Handzus-Purcell-Johnson-Williams comprising the 2nd unit. I'm not a big fan of having a forward on the backend on both power play units, but then again I'm not a big fan of Flash Forward so what do I know.*

*I don't get this show. I've watched the first 2 episodes and the were just the worst. The acting was terrible, the humor was weird and inappropriate, and why the fuck are people driving home the day after a global disaster? I don't get shows like 24 or Lost either, so I think it's my problem. Everyone I knows seems to think it's pretty good. Oh well, at least there's Community.**

**I almost cried I was laughing so hard at the end of the last episode when the Dead Poet's Society teacher made his big speech and then started climbing a tree. Also, "I will have... a birthday cake!"

-Things you learn from NHL 10's Be a Pro Mode:

+/- is bullshit. Seriously, I have one foot on the ice when the other team scores and it's my fault?
Fuck coaches. B- in team play? I have 5 points tonight asshole! I'm demanding a trade.
Having teammates is the worst. I dance around Jay Buowmeester, fake a shot, slide the puck over to Ryan Smyth... and then he misses a wide open net. Goddammit. (That's 8.)
I'm a child. I don't care how many games I play, hitting another player after the whistle and then chasing the ref around the rink when he appears is funny as hell.
I'm also an asshole. I never knew this, but apparently I'd get like a thousand penalty minutes if I were a skater instead of a goalie. I'm supposed to be a sniper but I keep fighting. Hack my leg? I'll kill you!
Michal Handzus will always be overrated. I don't know what it is about Handzus, but he always gets overrated in video games. The guy can't skate 10 feet without giving away the puck in real life, but put him in a video game and he's a superstar. I think he has 10 goals in the 3 games I've played with him. It's probably because he makes over $4 million dollars a year so people assume he's awesome.
Seriously, +/- is bullshit. I'm blanketing my guy at the point, how the fuck am I supposed to prevent that goal?????? I'm demanding a trade.

-Kings game tonight. I'm trying to think of a Kings team I've liked as much as I like this one, but I'm coming up with a blank. I mean, I hate Ryan Smyth, Jack Johnson is a douche bag and Peter Harrold is terrible but other than that I love everyone on this team.

Kopitar's the future.

Justin Williams looks like the villian in a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

Ted Purcell is tantalizingly talented and I hope for the best.

Dustin Brown is the captain, bold and moral.

Michal Handzus looks like Beeker from the Muppets.

Jarret Stoll... he's there.

Alex Frolov is my high school girlfriend.

Wayne Simmonds is the meat train.

Raitis Ivanans eats shoes.

Brad Richardson is probably of Norwegian descent and is thus cool in my book.

Trevor Lewis is a big mother fucker and will hopefully be a badass shutdown player in the future.

Drew Doughty once made a mistake; he said he wasn't amazing when he was 7.

Sean O'Donnell is an angry old goat who once kicked an ogre's ass.

Matt Greene is a future angry old goat.

Rob Scuderi is an angry goat.

Davis Drewiske... is also there.

MEAT TRAIN!!!!!!!!

Jonathan Quick makes amazing saves and has giant ears.

Erik Ersberg gets carded when he goes to R-rated movies.

Terry Murray always looks like a meerkat when he thinks he's spotted a grub. The meerkat Terry Murray, not actual Terry Mur... wait, hold on.

Yep, I think this may be my favorite Kings' team of all time. Maybe it's coloring my predictions for this season, but I do honestly think the Kings are going to make the playoffs this season.

The Kings have a mountain to climb.

Let's climb it.

Kings Send Down Schenn, Bernier, Hickey... and Westgarth

RudyKelly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:06:51 -0000

The Kings have made their final cuts of camp, sending Brayden Schenn to Junior and Jonathan Bernier, Thomas Hickey and Kevin Westgarth down to Manchester. (Would you rather watch Manchester or LA at this point? I think I'd enjoy watching Manchester more if Wayne Simmonds were down there.) That means the Kings' opening night line-up will look like this:

Smyth	Kopitar	Williams
Frolov	Handzus	Simmonds
Purcell	Stoll	Brown
Ivanans	Lewis	Richardson/Harrold
Harrold/Richardson	Clune (IR)

Drewiske	Doughty
Johnson	Scuderi
Martinez	Greene
O'Donnell (Susp.)

Quick

Ersberg

The Kings went with experience over the allure of youth. Thomas Hickey lost out to Alec Martinez, who has a year in Manchester under his belt;* Jonathan Bernier was beat out by Erik Ersberg, whose inability to be a #1 goaltender actually helped him; and Kevin Westgarth was bested by Raitis Ivanans, mostly because it's easier to send him down then convince someone to trade for Raitis.

*Martinez kind of gets a bad rap because the Kings have so many good defensive prospects. If it were 4 years ago everyone would be really excited about him, but most people think he's a scrub because he's not Thomas Hickey.

Overall, I'm not too upset by any decisions made in camp. Ted Purcell won the big job, that of 3rd line winger, while Richard Clune banished John Zeiler to the minors. We'll see Bernier and Hickey this season; it's just not quite as soon as we all hoped.

It's weird, I think most fans are pretty happy with this team.. Who is going to be the whipping boy this year? I guess Raitis, but he at least fights. It'll probably be someone who's contract is expiring soon like Cammalleri was before he left, someone who is enigmatic and easily moc-

Shit.

Training Camp Battles: #2 Goaltender

RudyKelly — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:08:41 -0000

Ladies and gentlemen, the toughest battle to call in camp. We've gone over two "Older prospect v. younger stud" battles already (Purcell v. Moller, Drewiske v. Hickey), but this battle features the weakest prospect versus perhaps the best stud. Erik Ersberg versus Jonathan Bernier comes to the eternal question that is being asked at training camps around the country: at what point is playing limited minutes worse than playing all the time at a lower level? Is it playing time or level of competition that is best for developing a prospect? Oddly enough, this battle is difficult to call because it doesn't come down to either man; it comes down to Jonathan Quick.

(This is off-topic, but don't the Kings have a pretty good looking set of goaltenders? Ersberg looks like a cherub, Bernier has the smoldering look of a leading man, and even Quick has a goofy charm. I mean, none of them are really hideous like Ryan Miller. Haha, that guy is a goober.)

The Favorite:

Erik Ersberg

#31 / Goalie / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-0

Weight: 185

Born: Mar 08, 1982

Preseason Stats: 2 games, 3.00 GAA, .878 SV%

I'm on record as not being the biggest Erik Ersberg fan. He plays really small in net and is vulnerable to rebounds. Actually, he's kind of like a worse Jonas Hiller, which is coincidental since they were both signed at the same time. But he's not bad or anything, he's just not good. He's bread. He's Swedish. (Hey, he is!) Erik Ersberg is built for a true back-up role, where he sits on the bench with a blank expression on his face for 60+ games a season and doesn't kill you when he does play. If the Kings think Jonathan Quick is ready for ~65 games this season, Ersberg is the best choice to back him up because that is what he is built for.

The Challenger:

Jonathan Bernier

#45 / Goalie / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 5-11

Weight: 184

Born: Aug 07, 1988

Preseason Stats: 2 Games, 2.00 GAA, .909 SV %

Goaltenders as a whole have a large ego but low self-esteem. You get a large ego from crushing the hopes of so many people; you ruin someone's day so many times and you begin feeling all-powerful. You get the low self-esteem from hearing the cheers and seeing the red light whenever a goal is scored. Your teammates will come by and tap you on the pads and tell you it's their fault, but you know that the other guys on the bench are criticizing you. To cope, most goaltenders become standoff-ish and arrogant because they begin telling themselves that they're a good goaltender and it's the fault of the rest of the team that the goal was scored. (Sorry, defensemen, but I blame you for everything.) When a goaltender has that illusion shattered, they usually suck for a while until they can develop that illusion back up.

Jonathan Bernier had that illusion shattered twice last season: first when he didn't make the team out of training camp, then again when Jonathan Quick was called up over him. Bernier has been told and has told himself that he is a great goaltender and would rise to stardom to the NHL, but he was suddenly met with the cold, hard realization that he wasn't good enough. That hurts and it takes a while to recover from that. Bernier did recover by the end of last season and was the goaltender everyone expected him to be. I think he will become a good goaltender in the NHL, although probably not the great goaltener everyone predicted. The best way to handle him, I believe, is to challenge him and make him the underdog. His large ego can be used for good as well as evil. Tell him Jonathan Quick is better than him. Make him prove everyone wrong over and over. I think the best course of action for the Kings is to pit Quick and Bernier in a season-long challenge to see who's the best.

Of course, if the Kings think Quick is already the best and trust him to play all the time, then there's not really much reason to keep Bernier up... is there? There actually isn't much difference in skill level between most NHL'ers and the superstars in the AHL; the difference is that the guys in the NHL can do all that stuff during games. If Bernier is not going to see game situations in the NHL then there's not much point in keeping him up. I think. Of course, there's not too much he's going to learn in the AHL, and if anything he's going to develop bad habits as he uses his athleticism in situations he can't in the NHL. I think, and this is just me, that the best situation for the Kings is to have Quick and Ersberg up in the NHL and Bernier in the AHL, at least to start. I would not be surprised at all if the Kings decide to keep all 3 goaltenders in the NHL for a little while, though. Let all 3 of them duke it out and pick the best 2.

Dustin Brown Sez...

...Dustin? Hey, where are you? You're suppo-

"Why hello Rudy."

Ahh! Oh, hey Ryan. Where's Dustin, he's supposed to do this segment for me.

"Dustin is... elsewhere. Don't worry, he's very happy with the places he is in right now."

Oh ok... wait, did you say "places?"

"I don't know. Did I?"

Hehe. Look, Ryan, I know I called you ugly a little while ago, and I don't want you to be mad or anyth-

"Mad? Why would I be mad? I thought it was hilarious. I just came to return the favor."

...Return the favor?

"Yes, Rudy. You made me smile, now I'm going to make you smile. Do you want to hear a joke?"

Uh, sure.

"Here's a joke: what has two legs and is about to die?"

Look Ryan, you're starting to scare me. Why don't you just leave and we'll- hey, what are you doing? Ryan, Get away from me!

AIYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Poll

Who should be the Kings' #2 goaltender?

Erik Ersberg

71 votes

Jonathan Bernier

58 votes

129 votes | Poll has closed

SBNation NHL Season Preview: Your 2009-10 Los Angeles Kings

RudyKelly — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:00:38 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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Surprise, cockfags! SBNation has been running season previews for every team in the league, and now it's Los Angeles' turn. Read this and then head over to Blueshirt Banter to hear how the Rangers aren't completely screwed paying Chris Drury, Wade Redden and Marian Gaborik $21 million dollars a season the next 3 seasons... haha just kidding, they're screwed.

2008-09 Season Review:

Drew Doughty was good, so was Wayne Simmonds, Anze Kopitar was underwhelming, Jack Johnson was hurt, Jon Quick was a surprise, Jason Labarbera sucked balls, and the Kings missed the playoffs again.

Who's In: Justin Williams (RW- trade, CAR), Ryan Smyth (LW- trade, COL), Rob Scuderi (D- UFA, PIT)

Who's Out: Patrick O'Sullivan (RW- trade, EDM), Kyle Quincey (D- trade, COL), Derek Armstrong (C- UFA, STL), Jason Labarbera (G- UFA, Phoenix), Denis Gauthier (D- UFA, shot into Sun), Kyle Calder (LW- UFA, ANA), Tom Preissing (D- COL), Brian Boyle (C- Trade, NYR)

Team Strengths: The Kings' biggest strength is their ability to keep the puck out of the net. The Kings were only 11th in goals allowed last season with 226, but they excelled at keeping the puck away from their net (tied for 4th in shots allowed). They were hurt last season by lackluster goaltending in the first half of the season but the introduction of young Jonathan Quick should help alleviate that this year.

The Kings also have a lot of forward and defensive depth; when you can afford to put someone like Alex Frolov on your stopper line and your defense is good enough that you can't find room for someone like Thomas Hickey on the backend, you can feel pretty confident that if someone gets injured then the rest of the team will pick up the slack. The Kings also have depth in goal, with 23-year old Jonathan Quick backed up by both Erik Ersberg and young prospect Jonathan Bernier. You can't expect any one of them to be a great goaltender this season but you figure you have a one in three shot, which isn't bad.

Team Weaknesses: The Kings do have a lot of depth, but what they lack is elite talent at any one position. The hope is that 22-year old Anze Kopitar will become that elite talent this season (he's definitely getting paid like one at $6.8 million dollars a year), but that's a lot of pressure to put on someone that young. Likewise, the workhorse of the defense is 19-year old Drew Doughty, who played 23+ minutes as an 18-year old last season. Both players will eventually become elite players in the NHL, but the Kings need them to be that player now and they may not be ready.

Kings' fans were hoping that the Kings would trade for that elite scorer that has been missed since Ziggy Palffy left Hollywood, but both Dany Heatley and Phil Kessel found homes elsewhere. Instead, the Kings traded for gritty left winger Ryan Smyth (who I hate, but that's another story) and oft-injured right winger Justin Williams. Both men have been perennial 30-goal scorers at one time, but age and injuries have lowered their value of late. The other major acquisition of this off-season, Rob Scuderi, is a nice defenseman (and was invaluable during the Penguins' cup run), but he's not exactly someone you build a defense around. The Kings have a lot of indians but they still need a chief.

Depth Chart:

The Kings main lines are pretty much set, with only the 4th line, 6th defenseman and back-up goaltender up for grabs. Click here for more in-depth analysis of training camp battles.

Smyth	Kopitar	Williams
Frolov	Handzus	Simmonds
Purcell	Stoll	Brown
Clune	Richardson	Westgarth
Harrold	Lewis

O'Donnell	Doughty
Johnson	Scuderi
Greene	Drewiske
Piskula

Quick

Ersberg/Bernier

The Kings generally follow a formula where they have two shooters and one set-up man on each line. Kopitar, Frolov and young prospect Ted Purcell are the set-up men, while the others are expected to get to the front of the net for head coach Terry Murray. The bottom 5 forwards are interchangeable; no real decisions have been made at this point.

Predictions: The season pretty much rests on 2 people: Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick. If Anze Kopitar can continue the career path he was on before last season's hiccup and score 80+ points, and if Jonathan Quick can repeat his performance from last year, the Kings should be in the mix for the playoffs. The Western Conference is tough to pick. The Kings could finish anywhere from 6th-13th and will be fighting with Anaheim and Dallas all season for a playoff birth in the Pacific Division.

What the hell: I'll go out on a limb and say that, for the first time since 2004, the Kings finish better than the Anaheim Ducks and make the playoffs.

Go Kings.

Poll

Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?

1

10 votes

2

0 votes

3

6 votes

4

4 votes

5

5 votes

6

19 votes

7

41 votes

8

42 votes

9

22 votes

10

29 votes

11

8 votes

12

10 votes

13

10 votes

14

4 votes

15

24 votes

234 votes | Poll has closed

Season Review: Jonathan Quick

RudyKelly — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:02:08 -0000

More photos » by Darryl Dyck - AP

8 months ago: Vancouver Canucks' Rick Rypien, left, is stopped by Los Angeles Kings' Jonathan Quick during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, April 9, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)

Browse more photos »

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Jonathan Quick	44	2495	21	18	2	6	103	2.48	1200	1097	.914	4

Favorite Moment(s):

Jesus, I forgot how many great glove saves he made last year.

Last Season: I can't figure it out. I know there's a reason I shouldn't assume that Jonathan Quick will be a good goaltender next season, but I can't find it. Quick, who joined the Kings in late December over the more highly-touted Jonathan Bernier, was exceptional last year. He has great numbers for over more than half the season, there's nothing stylistically wrong with his game, and he seems like a good guy that loves pressure. What's not to like? I don't know, but there's must be something, because no one else seems to have much hope for him.

At first I thought it was that his numbers were inflated by playing in front of the Kings' defense, but I don't think that's the case after running some numbers. The Kings were much better at stopping shots before they got to the goaltender last year, moving their shots allowed per game from 32 shots per game (29th in league) to 28.1 shots per game (4th in league). The team was done in more by a struggling Jason Labarbera and Erik Ersberg than anything else early in the season, and that problem was resolved by Quick at the midway point. You would think that Quick benefited from the Kings' solid defensive game, except that the Kings' ability to prevent shots kind of disappeared after Quick took over. Quick faced an average of 29.6 shots per game, which would put him more towards the middle of the pack amongst goaltenders. The Kings kept up their solid overall defensive play because Quick took over, not because of their defense.

Then, I thought maybe it was because he was new and teams would eventually figure him out. I think that's what happened to Erik Ersberg. Ersberg joined the Kings' organization in 2007-08 and put exceptional numbers for the Kings in 14 games at the end of the season (2.48 GAA, .927 SV%); this led many Kings' fans to anoint Ersberg as the Kings' goaltending savior coming into this season. Ersberg then proceded to put up poor numbers and was only saved the wrath of fans because their knives were already embedded in Jason Labarbera.

Could the same thing happen to Quick? Maybe, but I don't see much similarity between their situations. Quick put up his numbers over a longer period of time and is bigger, more athletic, and faster than Ersberg. The only things I don't like about Quick is his tendency to over-commit (leaving him out of position if the puck's angle changes) and the way he holds his head. He kind of scrunches his shoulders instead of holding it up high, which I think makes it easier to screen him. But then again, Tim Thomas does the same thing so what do I know. The difference between Ersberg and Quick is that you can watch Quick play and see that the numbers he put up were reasonable; you can't say the same thing with Ersberg.

And then there's the fact that I've seen this story before. I've seen Quick, and Ersberg, and Labarbera, and Garon, and on and on and on, come in and put up good numbers near the end of a year, get my hopes up, and then proceed to suck the next year. It's happened so many times that I don't know if I can trust any goaltender to put my fears to rest. Hopefully Quick can be the first one to do that.

Jonathan Quick had the 3rd best goaltender season for a rookie in the league last year, behind Steve Mason and Pekka Rinne. I don't hear the same questions surrounding Mason and Rinne that I hear around Quick, despite the fact that Mason is 21 and Rinne's performance last year is not really in line with his career numbers. When Quick was named to the Olympic tryout roster, he was mostly met with, "Who?" I guess I don't understand it. Maybe the fact that no one else is comfortable with Quick in goal for the Kings is making me uncomfortable. What do you think, should the Kings be worried?

The Future: Quick will likely enter the season as the #1 starter and will probably give around a 2.5 GAA, .910 SV% performance. I think that is probably his career projection and will be fine for next year. The real intrigue is behind him, where a steady Erik Ersberg will be challenged by a high-risk, high-reward Jonathan Bernier. The best thing that could happen for the Kings would be if Bernier can beat out Ersberg by mid-season and challenge Jonathan Quick for the #1 job starting next year. If I know Quick, he'll take his game to another level to meet Bernier's challenge and then the Kings are set in goal for the foreseeable future.