We Like Our Goalies Young

We also like it when our goalies give us a shot at winning games, something LaBarbera only did less than a handful of times this season. Who would've thunk it that Ersberg's injury would essentially be the final straw for LaBarbera; instead of Barbs stepping up and solidifying his hold on the number one goaltending spot, he let it slip away and gave rookie Jonathan Quick a chance (actually multiple chances) to show off his skills and prove he's ready for the NHL.

(Photo by Bernstein Associates/Getty Images)

With several strong performances in net from Quick, a healthier Ersberg, one highly touted goalie (Bernier) in Manchester and two additional promising goalies (Taylor and Zatkoff) in the pipeline, it was obvious from the start of the season that if Barbs didn't drastically improve his play in net his chances of returning next season would soon decrease to zero. Seeing that Barbs was only signed through this season (and not for a hefty price tag at all) and that it was highly unlikely he would be re-signed, unloading him and getting anything for him at this point is a bargain and a very smart move. Lombardi is pretty good at drafting players so I wouldn't be surprised if he snags a gem in the 7th round.

Photo Courtesy of kms2

He's tall...and really, really nice

See ya, Barbs. Good Luck with the Canucks this year and in the AHL or KHL after that.

x-posted to HLOG

Kings 4, Hurricanes 3 (OT)

Seeing Michal Handzus score the first and last Kings goals tonight almost brought tears to my eyes. I was a huge fan of Handzus last season despite his endless struggles on the ice and I was convinced he would be better this season. Only 4 games in and he's already proving what a different and improved player he is.

The third line of Alexander Frolov, Michal Handzus, and Wayne Simmonds played very well and were predominantly the best line for the Kings tonight. Even though Handzus and Frolov rarely, if ever, played on the same line last year, they looked amazing together. I'm still in awe of how well that line looked tonight. Before the season began I was anxious to see Frolov and O'Sullivan or Frolov and Stoll, but Frolov and Handzus? How did I not see this earlier? I think I was too preoccupied with the fact that if Calder was in the lineup it just seemed like he would play with Handzus. But fortunately, Calder has only been given the privilege of suiting up for the season opener. After re-signing O'Sullivan and keeping Oscar Moller and Simmonds, the Kings now have three solid lines.

Tonight I was impressed by three players: Handzus, Doughty, and LaBarbera. I already spoke about my wonderful amazing Handzus. Drew Doughty is f'ing good. The past couple games there have been moments when he would carry the puck and make moves that look so easy. But you know that it isn't easy. And when you think that he's just a couple games into this NHL career and he's already making opponents look bad, you know this kid is good. Crazy good. I'm so torn right now. I stated last month that I really liked what I saw from Hickey in the preseason games and I wanted to get his jersey. But I didn't want to get his jersey before he played with the Kings. And I didn't really want a Doughty jersey because during preseason he was wearing 80 and frankly, that's a shitty number. It's a multiple of so many other numbers. 37? Awesome! 80? It's so round... But when Matt Ellis was claimed off waivers, Doughty switched to 8 and 8, I can live with. And, he's amazing. So, yeah, if he shaves that horrendous facial hair then I'll definitely get a Doughty jersey.

Now, LaBarbera. I was a pretty tough critic of him during preseason but I was being honest because he looked like crap. He played ok against San Jose and played well against Anaheim, although he was hardly tested, but tonight he was ON. He did allow three goals tonight but all of them came from shots that were deflected by at least two players before they made it past him. The only way he could have saved them was if he had stolen Hasek's lucky horseshoe that's been stuck up his ass the past 15 years. Otherwise, Barbs was very solid tonight. (In fact, he's been the best goalie on my fantasy team this week. So thank you Barbs for not screwing up like Turco and Biron.) He had the save of the game in overtime when it looked like Eric Staal had an easy goal, but somehow Barbs got a pad on it and kept the game alive for Handzus to win it. He's getting better every game and is now making the saves that he should and coming up with some huge ones too. He's giving the Kings the goaltending they need and hopefully the W's will instill more and more confidence in him.

Ahhh, 2 in a row. It feels good. I wonder what 3 in a row feels like.

Meet and Greet with Barbs

This past Saturday Kings goaltender Jason LaBarbera was signing autographs at a local Staples Store. Ckim, her friend, and I made the trip to the Staples store that was located next to Silver Reign, a gentleman's club.

We thought about stopping in for the lunch buffet.

I decided not to bring my last 2003 Commemorative Puck and instead brought a 2005-2006 Upper Deck LaBarbera hockey card. I didn't buy many cards that season so it's a bit of a miracle that I actually had his card. Here's a pic of my signed card and a pic of the two of us.

I really like his autograph.

I forgot that he's 6'4"...and I'm not.

He's only the third hockey player I've "met" so I wasn't sure what to expect. Two weeks ago I went to the Frolov signing event and was a bit disappointed by his body language. He just looked so bored and uninterested in being there. I missed the second meet and greet with Derek Armstrong. Ckim was there and said he was much friendlier than Fro and instead of sitting in his throne the entire time (like Fro did) Army actually stood up for every photograph. Barbs was very nice during the entire time, stood up for every photograph, was very patient. I hope every hockey player I meet will be as nice and as caring for the fans as Barbs.