When the Los Angeles Kings have lost games this season, at least one bad defensive breakdown (usually multiple breakdowns) is usually at the root of the problem, and Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul was no exception.
After Michael Cammalleri banked one in off of Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom late in the first period to give the Kings a 1-0 lead, Wild right wing Marian Gaborik deflected a second-period point shot past Kings goaltender Erik Ersberg, who got his first start in the National Hockey League.
The two teams remained tied at the end of regulation time, sending the game into overtime. And off an end zone face-off in the Kings’ zone, Kings center Anze Kopitar lost his man on the play. Wild defenseman Martin Skoula easily moved in front of the net and all alone, he re-directed a pass between Ersberg’s legs to give the Wild the overtime victory.
The defensive blunder overshadowed a 33-save effort by Ersberg, who looked very solid, despite giving up the overtime game-winner to Skoula.
The Kings have now lost four straight games (0-2-2), they have lost six of their last seven games (1-4-2) and they are just 2-6-2 in their last ten.
March 3, 2008 at 4:56 PM
I liked Ersberg when he came on in relief against Chi and he looked good in his start last night. It’s nice to have a goalie who can handle the puck- he was pretty solid overall. I think if we could look at buying out Cloutiers contract and getting Ersberg extended, we could go after some d in the off season and seriously improve this team. We just need him and Labs to hold down the fort until we develop/ find our #1.
March 3, 2008 at 7:18 PM
Don’t forget…Ersberg has played in one game plus some mop-up work. We need to see a lot more of him in order to really assess his capabilities.
As for Cloutier, the guy really needs to retire.
March 3, 2008 at 7:36 PM
Sorry– I get a little too excited when we get good goaltending -usually about once a quarter :) seriously, I think if we could address the d and team toughness issues, Labs could be just above average and Ersberg could be just a capable back-up, then I think we would be battling for an eight seed next year
March 3, 2008 at 9:48 PM
Sorry- I get a little excited when we get good, all-around goaltending :) With an above average Labs and, hopefully, a capable back up in Esberg, we could a make a few moves for stay at home D and we could possibly battle for the 8th seed next year.
March 3, 2008 at 10:03 PM
I see the “getting a little excited” thing makes you repeat yourself, too. :-)