If I remember correctly, big-name sports columnist Bill Simmons often considers a player a star if he forces the opposing team to utter a bunch of “We had no answer for him"-type quotes. Jonathan Quick might be a star, then, because the Chicago Blackhawks provided those kinds of comments about him after he stopped all 38 of their shots in a 2-0 Los Angeles Kings win last night.
Marian Hossa’s take, via CSNChicago.com’s Tracey Myers: “Their goalie played unbelievable. He basically won the game for them.”
Here is what Viktor Stalberg said (also via Myers): “A lot of rebounds were sitting there but those guys were diving and saving them. I don’t know how they stayed out.”
Finally, here’s what Jonathan Toews had to say, via Adam Jahns: “You’d have to say he had a horseshoe you-know-where on a few of those plays.”
Lucky or not, Quick continues to keep the Kings in the picture with saves like these:
Quick now leads the NHL with five shutouts, which would be solid for a full season, let alone just about half. It doesn’t look like Los Angeles will be a high-scoring team under Darryl Sutter, but if they keep up this nice level of effort, the coaching change might just work out pretty well.