LA KINGS OUTSIDER 2.0

The $56-million man?!?! Terry Murray (6-3-2, 2.36 GF/G, 1.91 GA/G, 22.5 PP%, 86.1 PK%) Grade: C I only grade TM because I hated his decision to start Bernier vs. New Jersey.  I heard his explanation and still disagree.  I understand that he wanted Quick against the two division rivals but Quick and the Kings were on an absolute roll.  I’m a big believer in momentum and without a doubt the Kings had it.  The Kings played their worst game of the season in front of Bernier and got shutout by New Jersey. Jonathan Quick (6-1-2, 1.52 GAA, .947 SV%, 3 SO) Grade: A Quick has been outstanding for the Kings in the first month of the season.  Three consecutive shutouts earned him a Player of The Week honor already.  But don’t get too excited yet because Quick started off hot last October (7-1-0, 1.84 GAA, .936) only to never reach those numbers again for the rest of the season.  Jonathan Bernier (0-2-0, 3.55 GAA, .857 SV%, 0 SO) Grade: C I thought ...

Rob Scuderi 2010-11 Stats: 82 GP, 2 G, 13 A, 15 PTS, +1, 0 PPP, 16 PIM   Signed thru 2012-13; $3.4 million   What a year for Rob Scuderi.  He set a career-high in goals with...two.  All kidding aside, Scuderi had himself a solid second year in L.A.  Scuds and JJ were the only two Kings defenseman to appear in all 82 games this season.  Here's what I wrote about Scuds in the 2009-10 season review... Scuds is an interesting one; $3.4 million for 0 goals and 11 assists sounds crazy but that’s the price the market dictated last July.  Scuds was as-advertised.  A solid stay-at-home defenseman.  Nothing more. Nothing Less.  He's just a hard-working minutes cruncher that won’t put your team in danger. In a nutshell, that pretty much sums up Scuderi's 2010-11 season also.  He doesn't do anything flashy but plays a simple game based on positioning that makes him invaluable to the Kings.  Adding Mitchell to the fold helped t...

Team USA Needs This D-Man When Jack Johnson was selected for Team USA, I thought JJ was probably the fourth-best American defenseman on the Kings this season.  Scuderi, Greene and Drewiske were all playing better hockey at the time of his selection.  I'm sure JJ's international experience and performance in last year's World Championships helped his selection. Now, ESPN reports that Team USA defenseman Paul Martin has not healed quickly enough from his arm-injury to skate for the Americans in Vancouver.   Martin's replacement has not been announced yet but a few have speculated on Martin's possible replacement being Ducks defenseman Ryan Whitney. Per USA Today's Kevin Allen Conference call tomorrow decided Paul Martin's replacement on U.S. squad, but bet on it being Anaheim's Ryan Whitney. Bob McKenzie also agreed with the report.  I'm not familiar enough with Martin's game but I've seen enough of Whitney to know that he's not the bes...