Puck protection

Jonathan Quick, for the most part, was very good for the Kings last night. As Anze Kopitar noted, he probably prevented the game from being a Nashville blowout. But Quick did have one clear weakness, as he did two nights earlier in Dallas, and that came from handling the puck. Twice against the Predators, Quick tried to play the puck, only to have it end up in the back of his net. After the game, I asked Terry Murray whether plays such as those involved communication issues or whether they were simply poor plays.

MURRAY: “He just didn’t stop the puck. The first one, the puck was rimmed in from their blue line. He goes behind the net and the puck got between his feet and hit off the heel of his stick. That’s just one player making a play. The same thing happens on the third goal. The puck is dumped in from the red line, and that’s just a play that he has to make a stop on, and make a play. You know, he hasn’t played much in a couple of weeks. He hasn’t even practiced. So there are a lot of things that pop up, little stuff like that, that makes a difference. You take it so for granted most of the time.”