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| Looking for big contributions from the new guy. |
| 11.08.05 (10:22 am) [edit] |
Don Maloney knew the questions would come eventually. So when the Rangers' assistant general manager was asked about Los Angeles Kings rookie goalie Jason LaBarbera, he had his answer ready.
"He was a good goalie for us in the minor leagues, and we wanted to sign him," Maloney said. "We were very high on Henrik Lundqvist, and we were concerned about the one-way contract and the cost of keeping Jason. He hit free agency, and it shows the scarcity of good young goalies."
It's early, but the 25-year-old LaBarbera, who came into the season having played five NHL games with the Rangers, is among the league leaders in goals-against average (sixth through Thursday), save percentage (seventh) and wins (fifth). Despite being pulled from Thursday's 4-0 loss to Phoenix, his first bad outing, LaBarbera appears on the verge of establishing himself as the Kings' No. 1 goalie over the slightly more experienced Mathieu Garon (43 NHL games coming in).
"For me and Matty, it's an interesting situation," the 6-foot-3, 230-pound LaBarbera said. "We're both relatively young, we're both unproven, and we've both been given the opportunity to play. L.A. so far hasn't been afraid to give us an opportunity."
The improvement over his brief time in net for the Rangers is obvious. He could always make the first save, but now he's staying in position and controlling the rebounds as well.
LaBarbera, the Rangers' third-round pick in 1998, was 7-2-0 with a 2.21 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage through Thursday.
But who knows what would have happened this season if the Kings hadn't beaten out six other clubs who were speed-dialing LaBarbera's agent, Brad Devine, when he became an unrestricted free agent? The Kings offered a two-year deal worth $1.5 million.
"I just assumed I was going back to New York," LaBarbera said. "But we talked to L.A. and they blew me away. I said, 'This is crazy.' They said a lot of good stuff. They had Garon, so I looked at it as a real good opportunity."
Maloney said LaBarbera likely would have started the season as Kevin Weekes' backup while Lundqvist received some seasoning with Hartford, where LaBarbera was the AHL MVP two seasons ago. Yet even that opportunity was due to Dan Blackburn's unlikely career-ending injury.
"I have a lot to prove, but it's not like a vengeful thing — I have a lot to prove to myself, too, right?" LaBarbera said. "The way I look at it, coming in here, the management knew who I was, but the players didn't know."
LaBarbera, an avid Internet surfer, sheepishly said he's noticed his name among the league leaders.
"It's kind of cool to see your name with some of the guys you've seen through your life," he said. "Hopefully it can stay there."
No Garden party: Brian Leetch's first game at Madison Square Garden since the Rangers traded him to Toronto on March 3, 2004, was supposed to be Nov. 20. But the Boston defenseman is out a month after straining the medial collateral ligament in his right knee Tuesday against the Islanders. Boston's only other trip to the Garden comes March 20, but Leetch said in October, after skipping the Bruins' preseason game there, that he wasn't looking forward to returning because of all the emotions involved.
Into the Hall: Not that a Hall of Famer should have many regrets about his career, but Cam Neely never wonders what would have happened had his knees stayed healthy enough to play past the age of 31. The former Boston Bruin will be inducted tomorrow, along with Russian legend Valeri Kharlamov and Hockey Canada executive Murray Costello.
"Listen, the way that I played the game, it would be shocking if I didn't have some injuries," said Neely, who retired in 1996 after scoring 395 goals and 299 assists in 13 seasons. "That's the only way that I could play the game to help my team, and also to be a better hockey player. And I enjoyed playing that way."
Empty-netter: Sorry, but we disagree with the choice of Pittsburgh phenom Sidney Crosby — who comes to Madison Square Garden for the first time tomorrow — as the NHL rookie of the month for October, no matter how desperate the league is to market him. Yes, the 18-year-old is supposed to save the Penguins' franchise, and he did well with two goals and 12 assists in 11 games. But Pittsburgh finished the month 1-5-5, and Crosby has scoring help from others, including Mario Lemieux. Strong cases could be made for both Lundqvist and LaBarbera, either of whom had a more significant impact on his team than Crosby. But our choice is Washington left wing Alexander Ovechkin, who had eight goals and five assists in 11 games and is essentially doing it alone for the barren Capitals.
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