The NJ Devils Celebrate a 2nd Period goal. (Photo:AP)

The Kings had won 4 straight games. Their solid play in all 3 zones had been punctuated by Jonathan Quick’s record setting 3 straight shutout games, 188:10 seconds without allowing a goal. Quick, much like the start of last season, has been the Kings’ best player through the first 8 games and has been in goal for each of the Kings 5 wins, with a shootout loss in New Jersey the lone blemish on his record. With a .81 goals against average and a .972 save %, it would be more than fair to say that Quick has been the NHL’s top netminder through his first six starts.

Enter Kings’ Head Coach Terry Murray, who said prior to the start of the season he would ride the hot hand in goal rather then penciling in a rotation for his two goaltenders. In fairness when the other half of your tandem is 2006 first round pick Jonathan Bernier, a guy who could probably start for 2/3 of the teams in the NHL; this is a pretty smart philosophy to keep as it creates an optimal, competitive environment in which the guy playing has to earn his games. Ideally this pushes both guys to be at their best, and so far this seems to have helped to elevate Quick’s game to a level among the NHL’s elite. Why then, did Terry Murray stray from his “ride the hot hand” philosophy by starting Bernier at home against the Devils on Tuesday? Bernier was average at best in his lone start of the season, a 4-2 loss against the Buffalo Sabres in Berlin; and there’s no hand in the league, much less in the Kings’ organization hotter than Quick. Murray’s reasoning for the change was well documented by Rich Hammond. His thought process was, with 3 games in 4 nights starting Thursday, and 15 of 17 games against the Western Conference, he wanted to make sure to get Bernier some playing time, as he will most certainly be needed during that stretch. Murray eludes to the fact that if not Tuesday, Bernier perhaps doesn’t play until December. So, it’s Bernier vs. the Devils on Tuesday, that’s that.

What happens next? The Kings absolutely stunk up the joint. Uncharacteristically bad turnovers that led to goals-against, and an inability to mount much offensive zone pressure. While Devils’ goalie Johan Hedberg was indeed very good, the number of high-octane scoring chances the Kings had against him was minimal. It might be worth noting that the breaks did not go the Kings’ way most of the game either: The Devils had a first period goal disallowed because Devils’ defender Henrik Tallinder was in the crease behind Bernier, and Dainus Zubrus’ first goal in the second period should have been disallowed: Bernier had possession of the puck and Zubrus ran him over like a Mack truck jarring the puck loose and into the net. If the first one was interference (and I’ll say for the record it was perhaps marginal but was the correct call as Tallinder did make incidental contact with Bernier), the second one DEFINITELY was. In a one goal game, I’d have been absolutely livid about that call. Once that goal was on the board it was all Devils. A rare but costly turnover by Anze Kopitar led to a one-timer by Patrik Elias that made it 2-0. Minutes later another turnover led to Zubrus’ 2nd goal of the night, a slapper from the right circle that was definitely stoppable to make it 3-0 New Jersey. The rest of the game the Kings made Hedberg look like the second coming of Patrick Roy. Game, set, match.

Let me make clear one point: The play of Jonathan Bernier wasn’t the reason the Kings’ lost this game. The first NJ goal shouldn’t have counted in the first place, the second one would’ve been tough for anybody to stop. The third goal was the only one of the bunch I’d call soft: Zubrus takes a slapshot with a long windup and shoots from the circle, giving Bernier time to come out and challenge (he didn’t). Any shot from that range without a screen or a deflection, save the absolutely perfect off the bar and in type shot, should not go in. Zubrus’ shot fell within none of the above parameters.

The team in front of Bernier played their worst game of the young season thus far on Tuesday, and while Bernier himself isn’t directly responsible for that, let me provide some food for thought.

What kind of message is Terry Murray sending to his team by sitting the man who has been it’s best player all season? What are you telling the guys in the room by saying you’re giving Quick the night off because 15 of 17 upcoming games are in-conference? Would you sit your best player in an important game? Me neither.

Quick’s streak is as important to the other guys in the room, if not more important than it is to Quick himself. It’s a testament not only to outstanding goaltending but excellent team defense – something Terry Murray’s system prides itself on. The longer that streak continues, the more it says not only about Quick, but about the team in front of him. Sitting Quick Tuesday night might have left enough wiggle room in players’ minds (we’re not defending Quicker’s streak tonight, so…) to allow the type of lackadaisical effort we saw from the Kings in this loss. You end up feeling bad for Bernier because, while he wasn’t outstanding by any means, he also wasn’t playing behind an inspired team, not his fault.

I’m not attempting to strike up the “Fire Terry Murray!” crowd yet, but I do question his decision to sit Jonathan Quick Tuesday night. While I think Murray is a fine coach, certainly capable of helping the Kings win the Cup, for one night at least he seemed to be out of touch with the psychological effects that a seemingly harmless personnel decision can have on the entire team.

Of course, nobody will ever know if the result would’ve been any different had Quick led the team onto the ice Tuesday night, but it’s something to think about.

Kings will be in Dallas Thursday night, with Quick in net.

GO KINGS!

-JS

The regular season is upon us now, and the Kings have played a trio of games thus far. Opening day in Stockholm saw the Kings beat the New York Rangers on a Jack Johnson power play goal in OT 3-2. The next day in Berlin, the Kings were outworked by the re-tooled Buffalo Sabres and beaten 4-2. Tonight in New Jersey, the Kings suffered a 2-1 shootout loss to the Devils. So, all things being symmetrical I thought I would give some of my thoughts on the team’s play thus far.

A Dustin Penner injury brought head coach Terry Murray to move Simon Gagne up to the top line with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. That line has accounted for 3 of the team’s 5 goals thus far, and while Murray’s original idea was to have Penner flank Kopitar on the left, the seemingly instant chemisty between Kopitar, Williams and Gagne should see that line combination stick around awhile. The Kings’ lone regulation goal tonight was a beauty by Gagne, who was set up by Williams and Kopitar. This line has been dangerous in all 3 games and should continue to be going forward.

Much has been said about Jack Johnson needing to be a plus player this season. Through 3 games, Johnson is a -2. Jack has done much to contribute offensively, particularly in the first two games; but he has yet to escape being caught standing around on an opponents goal in any game this year. Johnson has been on the ice, and has made key mistakes in at least one opposing goal against in each of the Kings’ first three games. This is going to have to change in order for Johnson to make the leap from a good second pair defender to a very good defender, period. It’s early but what we’ve seen from Jack so far is what we’ve always seen – and that isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Alec Martinez was the Kings’ best defenseman in their opening game in Stockholm, hands down; and he continued that solid play into the first period against Buffalo in Berlin. After that, Martinez has vanished. In a sense this is good – he hasn’t made any glaring mistakes worth remembering, but he also hasn’t stepped up and made any significant contribution either. If Martinez can regularly play with the intensity he did in the opener, it would be a huge asset to the club. If he’s invisible, it could prompt the team to give Slava Voynov – who had a dynamite preseason – a look during regular season competition.

Scott Parse’s time with the Kings may be coming to an end soon. After having a terrible preseason and contributing nothing in the opening pair of games in Europe, Parse is a healthy scratch yet again. He’s a guy who probably doesn’t fit into any available role on this Kings’ team right now, and his career as a fringe NHL’er has lasted three years on the strength of one fantastic goal against Mikka Kipprusoff three seasons ago. It would be no shock to see Parse end up on the waiver wire soon, where he’s likely to go unclaimed, punching his ticket to Manchester.

Veteran Trent Hunter has looked good in a bottom 6 role so far, much better suited for that role than the aforementioned Parse. While he doesn’t possess the same scoring touch, Hunter could prove to be a worthy replacement for Wayne Simmonds as the season wears on.

It’s far too early to forecast, but Jonathan Quick has been sharp in his pair of starts for the Kings (he was first star in tonight’s SO loss) while Jonathan Bernier was good but not terrific against Buffalo. Based on Terry Murray’s “play the hot hand” comments in preseason, it’s safe to assume we’ll see a lot more of Quick if these first three games are any indication. Ideally Bernier will step up when his next opportunity arrives and that will continue to push Quick – healthy competition can only be a good thing after all. I expect it to be about like last season. Bernier will play well when needed and Quick will be stellar. In short, the Kings will be fine in goal, and I expect Quick to be part of the Vezina Trophy conversation at season’s end.

How is it possible that Dustin Brown doesn’t have a single hit in the Kings’ first three games? Please tell me that’s a typo.

Speaking of Dustins – Penner’s season debut tonight was less than impressive. He didn’t seem to have a lot of jump and the only time of note he used his size was taking a charging penalty at the end of regulation. One game does not a season make, but Penner looked like the Penner of last season – a colossal disappointment – in tonight’s game.

Now that Drew Doughty is making 7 million a season, he needs to be a guy that can take over games. While he missed all of camp and only played in one exhibition game, and hasn’t been bad by any means, he is being paid like the Kings’ best player, and he hasn’t been that so far. Which leads me to…

Just who has the Kings’ best player been so far? No surprise, it’s Anze Kopitar. 5 points in 3 games so far, you can see the effect that having a legit #2 center like Mike Richards is going to have on Kopitar’s season. The 40 goal, 100 point mark is well within his reach, and ESPN analyst Barry Melrose said on the NHL Network’s “On the Fly” last night that he thinks Kopi might win the Rocket Richard trophy this season. This may be the year the rest of the hockey world officially finds out, just how good Anze Kopitar is.

Mike Richards had a key goal to tie the opener against the Rangers, but he still looks to me like he’s not quite dialed in with his teammates yet. I expect it’ll happen relatively soon – and perhaps if Penner continues to disappoint, moving Brad Richardson to 2nd line Left Wing would better benefit Richards’ play. It’s too early to judge, and Richards has already contributed, albeit not quite as consistently as we’d all like.

All in all, the sky is not falling. The Kings have played 3 games, all of them against good teams. As good as the Kings’ are, you could look at the schedule and say it isn’t out of the range of possibility that they could be 0-3 right now. I’m in no hurry to reach for the panic button.

Much will be revealed Saturday afternoon, as the Kings venture into Philly to take on the unbeaten Flyers, perhaps the toughest test yet.

GO KINGS!

-JS