I so wish that I could write a post game blog solely about Ersberg being robbed once again by the media in the building when he was again knocked down from the First Star of the Night that he actually earned in my opinion. He has 2 NHL shut-outs in his first 10 NHL games. That is the kind of goaltending that will enable the Kings to concentrate on the rest of the team. In other words, the skaters will get the kind of scrutiny that always should have been in place; but for bad goaltending. Previously, the blame always went between the pipes.
And stopped there. (Huh?)
I am becoming a believer in Ersberg over LaBarbera. Previously, I touted LaBarbera and fully supported him as the bridge to Bernier. My allegiances are now veering to the Swedish import. He has a calm demeanor and a control of rebounds while in net I didn’t sense with LaBarbera even on some of the winning streaks this season Jason made possible.
In an ironic twist, while the Honda Center and the Staples Center had him as the #3 and #2 Stars over the last two games, ESPN who picked three Stars of the Night from every NHL game for the entire day, gave Ersberg the #1 Star both nights. And rightly so, I say. (Memo to Kings' Media Department: send a picture of Ersberg to ESPN so his actual picture can be posted with his name and winning stats.)
Apart from the singular praise and respect Ersberg is earning, is another question I pondered last night as I saw Crawford juggle his lines to such an atypical and nonsensical way. Here are some of the new lines Crawford threw out Thursday:
Ivanans – Handzus – Frolov
Cammalleri – Armstrong – Brown
O’Sullivan – Kopitar – Willsie
Willsie – Armstrong – Kopitar
The bench got so short at times that I wondered whether Crawford secretly was mixing things up to ensure a loss and the right to Stamkos (assuming the Kings won the lottery, of course.)
Amidst my questions, I thought if the following players earned near no ice time: Willsie, Thornton, Ellis, and Giuliano, then why aren’t we shipping the best kids down from Manchester to give them a few games of NHL exposure to prepare them for next year. A fellow season ticket holder explained that this year’s Kings and the effects of being a last place team, is something the organization doesn’t want to impose on the kids. Perhaps it would squelch or back track their development. This take has considerable merit.
Here I sit the day after and now read how somehow Bertuzzi is trying to impose responsibility for his actions on Crawford as evidenced by the lawsuit he just filed. When this allegation from Bertuzzi first came out, rather than address it, I purposely and intentionally wrote a blog called, “Moment of Silence”, where I said nothing at the top of my lungs.
It is no longer tenable for me to remain mute. Read more:
The third-party claim filed in Ontario Superior Court by Bertuzzi's lawyers alleges that Crawford should be named in the suit because he allegedly urged his players in March 2004, including Bertuzzi, to make Moore "pay the price" when Crawford "knew or ought to have known that this was likely to result in injury to Moore."
The papers also allege that Crawford "failed to exercise control over and caution his players against physical aggression toward Moore."
Bertuzzi sues Crawford
This time, as I concentrate more on next season for the Kings than this one, it brings me back to, regardless of the validity and veracity of Bertuzzi’s allegations, do I really want the Kings’ youth and the rebuilding movement that is going on affected by Crawford and Bertuzzi’s pending litigation. To that, I easily say no. I get that players are professionals. They have a job to do, they focus solely on the ice, don’t think of things outside of what is in their control. (blah, blah, blah)
Here is the thing, everything I just wrote comes from the litany of articles I read whenever a team distraction comes up,
any team mind you, what the players say while it is played out. Then I take a step back, and believe, you know what, no one is that good. I think everyone tells themselves they are, but the execution isn’t user friendly or that easy to execute.
The Canucks and that team’s aftermath after the Bertuzzi-Moore incident took a legitimate and predictable hit over what transpired after that sad, fateful night. Heck, the dynamic between Crawford and Bertuzzi has everything to do with why neither of them is in Vancouver right now.
I take no issue with Crawford for what was or was not said that night. I am not giving him a pass or blame, simply because I wasn’t there and my focus is in the present. It has to be. The effect of this incident and the stories and litigation that followed it, is still very real and isn’t going away quietly in the night. This is a legitimate reason why the Kings cannot afford to keep Crawford until or unless he puts his past in the past.
As an attorney, that is no easy fix for Crawford and I know that. Hence, why I now take the regrettable position of suggesting that Crawford and his unresolved past cannot be allowed to hurt the Kings and the organization and team they are building, the right way this time. If players like Moulson, Purcell, Lewis, Boyle, Tukonen, heck the entire Monarchs’ team, if they need to be shielded from the effects of this losing/last place atmosphere, then they also need to be shielded from the effects of the collateral damage of the Bertuzzi-Moore incident which is now regrettably part of Crawford’s present
now.
If he can get out from under this melee, fine, then he earned the right to see what he can do with this team now that NHL goaltending appears to finally be in place thanks to Ersberg and LaBarbera (when healthy). If he cannot, then it is time for Crawford to put his house in order personally – even if the situation and the current litigation as it relates to him are misplaced. Sometimes you have to look between the forest and the trees. The Kings need to build a forest, not try to conquer the one intractable tree … that can neither be cut nor ignored anymore.
Carla Muller Carla.hockeygal@att.net
CarlaMuller
Is Crawford’s Past Precluding a Healthy Atmosphere for the Kings’ Present? 
