Quick has sights set on other hardware

True to his nature, Jonathan Quick answered the “how does it feel to be nominated for the Vezina?’’ questions roughly the same way he would answer the “what’s your favorite color/band?’’ questions. After practice today, Quick expressed his appreciation at being nominated for the award, but spent more time talking about his teammates and the upcoming second-round playoff series against St. Louis. Quick, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators are the three finalists for the Vezina, which will be awarded on June 20. The league’s general managers vote on the award, and Quick said he got a call from general manager Dean Lombardi yesterday, informing him that he was a finalist.

QUICK: “It’s a tremendous honor to be put in a category with Hank and Pekka. They’re two great goalies in this league, well-respected goalies. To be put in the same category as those two, it’s a tremendous honor. At the same time though, that’s not the trophy that I set out to win nine months ago, eight months ago, whatever. We still have a shot at the other one, and that’s what we’re working at right now.’’

Question: Is it satisfying in a way, given that players on the West Coast often aren’t recognized as much?

QUICK: “Yeah, absolutely. To be put in that category is a tremendous honor. It’s something that a lot of hard work goes into, and it’s a credit to the way these guys [teammates] played in front of me all year. Being a goaltender, it’s a position that you’re more dependent on your teammates than any other position in sports. For your goalie to be put in a category like that, it means that these guys are doing a tremendous job, which they’ve done for me all year.’’

Question: The awards ceremony is in Las Vegas. Is that a trip you will look forward to?

QUICK: “We’ve got a flight to St. Louis tomorrow. That’s on my mind more than that trip. I’m looking forward to the flight to St. Louis tomorrow.’’

Darryl Sutter, asked about Quick’s Vezina nomination, said, “That’s awesome. It’s good to have guys nominated. It doesn’t matter the award. It’s awesome.’’ Sutter also wasn’t surprised to hear that Quick had a low-key response to the selection…

SUTTER: “I think that’s just his personality. He’s sort of getting locked in on the task at hand. I’m sure when he gets his time alone, or time with family, or postseason, then he will take a different look at it.’’