QUICK REWARDS KINGS' FAITH
Goaltender bounces back with Game 4 shutout effort to tie series with Oilers
This is not Jonathan Quick's first rodeo.
Despite giving up 10 goals in two consecutive outings and being pulled in Game 3 in the first-round series against the Oilers, Quick bounced back with his best performance in Game 4.
A 31-save, 4-0 shutout in Los Angeles had the teams tied heading into the pivotal fifth game of the series at Rogers Place on Tuesday.
“He's been a fighter all along when it comes to battling,” said Kings head coach Todd Mclellan prior to Game 5. “He's been a rallying point to this organization in the past, I've lived it and saw it. He's done it before and as much as his fighter attitude comes out, it's his experience as well.
“It's water off his back and he moves on. And when you look at the goals that were being scored on him, I don't think we can look at it and say that Jonathan was terrible — backdoor two-on-ones and power play goals, the Oilers can do that to you.”
Mclellan has experience going up against Quick as coach of the San Jose Sharks for seven seasons. In 2014, the Sharks built a 3-0 lead on the Kings in a firstround series, scoring 17 goals in the first three games.
After the Kings won 6-3 in Game 4 to earn their first win of the series, Quick shut the door.
He conceded just two goals over the next three games to backstop the Kings in an improbable series victory, coming back from a three-game deficit. Los Angeles went on to win the Stanley Cup that season.
So, despite a rough outing in Games 2 and 3 against the Oilers, losing 6-0 and 8-2, there was little doubt the Kings were going to come back with Quick in Game 4, despite having the heir apparent Cal Petersen available. Petersen signed a three-year, Us$15-million contract extension starting next season.
But until then, it is still Quick's net and will be through the remainder of the series as long as he stays healthy.
“I don't think any one of us were worried about Quicky, he's been a rock star for us for a lot of years now,” said Kings forward Trevor Moore. “We didn't look at those games that we got blown out and think that was Quicky's fault. We weren't good enough in front of him; we know that.
“The older guys had talked about that, too. When they lost big games in the playoffs in the past, they were able to go on runs still and kind of bounce back. The leadership in there is huge and we can lean on that and Quicky has been there before.”
Quick put up solid numbers in the regular season with a 23-13-9 record, a 2.59 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. He was always going to play a big part in the outcome of the series against the Oilers.
“It wasn't like we were throwing darts at him and saying that he wasn't surviving,” Mclellan said. “He has a lot of qualities that allowed him in the past to be who he is and who he is now.”
HOMEGROWN TALENT
It took time for Moore to settle into his spot in the Kings lineup, but he eventually solidified himself on the second line.
Heading into Game 5, Moore led the Kings in series scoring with two goals and five points through the first four games.
A product of Thousand Oaks, Calif., Moore is playing right wing on a line with Phillip Danault and Carl Grundstrom, who was instrumental in the Game 4 win Sunday to tie the series.
“His story, with me personally with our organization, he played at Denver (University) where my son played,” Mclellan said. “I got some really good information out of there. In Toronto, working with Babs (Mike Babcock), I know he really appreciated him as a player so that means he has certain qualities that I'm aware of.”
Undrafted, Moore, 27, signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs after three seasons at the University of Denver and spent four years in the organization bouncing between the NHL and AHL.
Moore moved on to Los Angeles, where he's now in his third season with the Kings.
He had a career high 17 goals and 48 points this season for Los Angeles.
“Last year, he really established himself as a really good player for us,” Mclellan said.
“The coaching staff, led by me, made a mistake earlier in the year of not finding him a good home.
“We moved him all over the place on different lines, and by about Christmas, we found him a home on a line and he made good on the opportunity.”
Moore has developed into a dependable two-way forward for the Kings.
Along with providing offence in the series, he and his line are also responsible for trying to keep Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl in check.
The Danault line has been utilized as much as possible against the Oilers' top lines.
“The way he plays the game is really suited for today's hockey,” Mclellan said. “That was information that got to us through the back channels.”
Notes: After starting the series on the top line, Andreas Athanasiou was a scratch in Game 4 and again in Game 5 as Mclellan went with the same lineup after tying the series. Athanasiou signed with the Kings after not being given a free-agent qualifying offer by the Oilers following the 2019-20 COVID -19 disrupted season … Kings rookie Quinton Byfield has also been a healthy scratch since playing the first two games of the series. Byfield was selected second overall by the Kings in the 2020 NHL draft.