It was referenced in the Trevor Lewis article earlier today, but Bill Ranford would likely be the club’s first choice to serve as an emergency fill-in should – perish the thought – both Jonathan Quick and Martin Jones be felled by injury.
“I always have equipment packed for that reason,” the Kings’ goaltending coach said.
A moment in which Ranford has found himself in the crease in a near-identical situation is below, as are reflections on Jonathan Quick’s performances during the recent two-game swing through Winnipeg and Edmonton and Quick’s efforts to absorb the more difficult aspects of goaltending without getting frustrated.
Bill Ranford, on emergency goaltending situations from his playing career:
Well, I was telling the guys we had a situations where I ended up getting hurt in the first period [with] a high-ankle sprain. I was basically blocked up in ice and Pokey Reddick went in. He takes a shot to the head, concussed. I have to play the last eight minutes of the second period, get dressed again and basically play on one leg. I just stood there and Pokey came back in and played the rest of the third period. I think it was either Greg Millen or somebody like that, that was actually broadcasting at the game that they were trying to sign him to a contract so he could come in and play. So yeah, crazy. But I played somewhat like Montoya did last night, just basically standing there.
Ranford, on whether Jonathan Quick had a bounce-back performance in Edmonton:
Oh, I didn’t mind his game at Winnipeg at all. I didn’t like the last goal. I thought he was outstanding in the game. Obviously it wasn’t a bad goal, but it was a goal that I think just kind of surprised him. He kind of relaxed for a second as it kind of came through traffic and Ladd wired it. But other than that, he was excellent. I don’t look at that as a bounce-back at all. He was happy with his game except for that goal, and the goal pissed him off. He has a way of coming back and trying to prove a point. I thought he did last night, but I don’t look at that necessarily as a bounce-back because I thought there was detail in his game in Winnipeg….We were just flat out not very good.
Ranford, on whether he talks to Jonathan Quick about teams getting under his skin:
No. I think it’s come up in the eight years maybe twice. It’s going to happen. I think he thrives on that energy. The frustration that I think that he has, he plays it as honest as any goalie in the league and doesn’t make a point of throwing his hands, doing the big acrobatic roll back whenever he gets hit. I think that’s where the frustration is. He plays it straight up and we don’t get the calls. And I think that’s something that’s getting addressed in the league right now. They’re going to look at that hard at the next general managers meetings because it’s unfortunate that there are five or six guys out there that are making it hard on the rest of the goalies in the league.
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