Goalies for the Kings don't seem to last long these days. Jason LaBarbera stuck around longer than most, but finally succumbed to the occupational hazard Wednesday morning, as he had season-ending surgery to repair a sports hernia.
LaBarbera, who started 42 games for the Kings this season, missed the previous six games with an injury that had been listed as a strained groin.
Kings coach Mar Crawford said rookie Erik Ersberg, who started the past two games, will get the majority of time in goal over the last 14 games. LaBarbera should be at full strength to start next season.
"It's unfortunate. He's had a decent season for us," Crawford said of LaBarbera, who had a 3.00 goals-against average. "I think he's proved that he's a capable NHL goaltender, and obviously he played the bulk of the time for us. So it's a tough injury, but on the positive side, it allows him to have a long period of recovery and hopefully he'll be ready to start fresh at the start of next season."
Kings goalie LaBarbera has surgery for sports hernia (LA Daily News) 
