Is it just me, or has Jonathan Quick played better in games in which the Kings have recorded one point (or none) than in the games the Kings have won? Still no indication that Quick is leaving the net any time soon. Here’s what Terry Murray had to say about Quick’s most recent efforts…
MURRAY: “Quick has been real good for us. Again, two teams that are big teams, big-bodied teams, there’s a lot of traffic at the net, they’re playoff teams and they know how to get the job done. You have to have good goaltending, or they’re going to find a way, and I thought Quick’s game (Thursday) against a pretty good hockey team was real good.”
He has been very good, but, uh, I won’t complain if they work on shootout/1-on-1 drills with him.
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Yup, Rich and Lanny. He’s still missing the “swagger” you hope to see in the shootout…but the season is young, and it’s hard to imagine the whole team not continuing to get better and better.
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i’m happy with Quick. and that’s what counts inside.
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Rich…… why do you sound in your writing of Quick that you may still doubt his ability?? I apologize if I’m reading into your writing but when you brought up Bernier having a 1.60 GAA in Manchester a few days ago, to me it didn’t come across as having faith in Quick.
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Well for one thing, it’s perfectly fine for anyone not to have absolute blind faith in Quick. The guy hasn’t even played a full NHL season yet. Bernier is kicking ass and taking names in Manchester.
I’m not calling for Quick to be replaced by any means. Just playing Devil’s Advocate here and reminding you that Quick’s not exactly a time-tested, infallible #1 goalie.
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Agree with Lanny on the shootout drills, problem is, our shooters can’t score in a shootout, so their not much help to Quick in practice.
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What I feel is the weakest part of Quick’s game is his puck handling. He has improved from last year but he must still be one of the worst in the league. There (to me) seems to be an elevated sense of indecision with his passing and clearing plays.
I hope that shootout confidence can be worked on and improved just like our shots against situation last year. If it determines who gets extra points, the Kings need to take it as seriously as any other aspect of the game.
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Just to throw fuel on the fire, Bernier won again tonight 2-1 with 28 saves. Moller scored the game winner on a penalty shot with less than 2 minutes left. Zeiler got the 1st goal.
The question is going to become, how long do you want to keep Bernier in Manchester with EE struggling or do you want to give him a full year in the AHL? Nothing wrong with a little competition is my opinion.
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If/when Bernier is ready, I say you bring him up. Nothing wrong with two young goalies competing against each other for playing time. Will make them both better in the long run. If one develops into a clearly better goalie, you have the opportunity to trade the other for quality. For now, I am happy enough with Quick – he sure as heck makes me feel more comfortable than the other clowns we have had recently. Time will tell whether he or Bernier (or neither) will be the long term answer. If they end up competing against each other, it will be a great problem to have.
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im sorry but im not sold on quick. quick can make some good saves but also give up soft goals.
i think bernier is going to be the answer for l.a..
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Bernier is facing minor league shooters. Quick is facing the best shooters in hockey. There’s no direct comparison.
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Quick has been playing more solid of late and even if we are losing(but still geting 2 out of 4 points) I cannot fault Quick. Whne the team starts scoring again, i hope that Quick’s confidence will continue to grow. This is all a good thing. Sooner or later Bernier will get his chance.
The difference im seeing this year, as opposed to last two years is that a soft goal last season in a tie game usually killed us, with a better defence last season BUT lack of offense. 2 seasons ago we had absolutely no D, no offense and no goalie. This season we have a good goal tender, a way better Defensive core in place(and system), and Offense is cooking on serveral lines and the additional off season additions actually work and our own crop of kids making it into the NHL without being rushed in. This season I don’t think we have had this many options or depth.
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I’m sold on Quick and if we were to trade Bernier for a Top Scorer I would bless the trade. Bernier is playing AHL players, Quick is playing against NHL players.
To all you Quick doubters, how long does he have to keep playing for all of you to gain confidence in him? All those are rookie goalies and goalies that emerged last year sure don’t seem to have to go through all the c#ap you guys are putting on Quick.
Same goes for Ersberg, he lost one game and you guys are ready to feed him to the lions.
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On Ersberg, I think he needs to go down to the minors if Murray’s not going to start him. Then they could bring up Zatkoff or something (at least, if they’re not going to start him.) Whoever backs up needs to have seen some live action recently.
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Yeah, Rich, definately. Still, a win’s a win’s a win, right? That’ll work during the regular season – it’s been fun so far, hasn’t it – and we’ve got plenty of time to tighten some screws in net. And tighten them we’d better or, as everyone here knows, this we will be one of those ‘great season, early playoff exit’ years. Insert your favorite defense / goaltending / playoff wins cliche here.
(Maybe we should trade for POS and put him in net. Just saying!)
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