LaBarbera Prefers Shutouts to Shootouts

He may have been the beneficiary of Jeremy Roenick’s controversial shootout goal to beat Nashville, 3-2, on Saturday, but rookie goaltender Jason LaBarbera is no fan of the NHL’s new way to eliminate ties. For that matter, he could do without the new rules designed to open up the offensive flow of the game. After all, he is a goalie.

“It’s a tough way to lose a game,” he said of the shootout format. “You get a guy like Paul Kariya coming in at you full bore ...” LaBarbera perhaps was thinking of what would have happened if Roenick’s goal had been disallowed. Some of the Predators contended it should have been, saying that the King forward struck the puck twice before sending it past Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun.

Nevertheless, LaBarbera accepts the shootout as a way of life, especially since he lived with it last year in the American Hockey League. And, he grudgingly concedes, it does add excitement to the game. “There was an unbelievable atmosphere” at Staples Center at the end of Saturday’s game, he said.

Similarly, the elimination of the red line to allow long passes -- as well as the expansion of the offensive zone and the closer calling of penalties -- “makes my job a lot harder,” LaBarbera said. “You see a lot more scoring chances this year. Before, there were more garbage goals.”

Now, he added, skill players are free to use their speed and playmaking abilities.

“You can tell by some of the [high] scores,” LaBarbera said. “The league’s getting what it wanted.”

Still, LaBarbera is off to a strong start, with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.

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Center Derek Armstrong, who has been out for several games because of a groin injury, looked “promising” during Monday’s practice, Murray said. However, defenseman Mike Weaver might be put on the injured reserve list after suffering a broken bone in his foot, Murray said.