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 He returned to NHL action in a stingy mood.
Quick, who had harsh words for his Team USA mates after a 5-0 loss
to Finland in the bronze-medal match at the 2014 Winter Olympics,
delivered a 25-save shutout Thursday, leading the Kings to a 2-0
victory over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
"The first star of the game was Jonathan, no doubt about it," Kings
defenseman Robyn Regehr said. "When we were on our heels a little
bit, he made the saves we needed him to. He was great tonight."
Left winger Dustin Brown had a goal and an assist and fellow left
winger Dwight King also scored for the Kings (33-22-6).
The Flames (22-30-7) failed to provide any offensive support for
rookie goalie Joni Ortio, who was making his NHL debut. Ortio
finished with 22 saves, but he couldn't match his netminding
counterpart as the Kings snapped Calgary's five-game home winning
streak.
"He's probably one of the most athletic, if not the most athletic
goalie in the league," Ortio said of Quick. "He's unbelievably
quick, quick to recover from saves and going from side to side. I
think that's what makes him as good as he is."
Brown welcomed Ortio to the big leagues with an unassisted goal just
three minutes after the opening faceoff. The Kings captain picked up
a puck along the boards and bolted toward the net, forcing a shot
through Ortio's five-hole from the edge of the crease.
Quick showed impressive reflexes to stop Flames center Mikael
Backlund and right winger Jiri Hudler on deflections in the first
period, and he also scurried back to his crease to stop right winger
David Jones.
He made 15 saves in the second period, highlighted by pad stop on
defenseman TJ Brodie's slap shot.
King added an insurance marker at the 3:30 mark of the third period,
chopping a shot past Ortio from close range, and the Flames managed
just two shots the rest of the way.
Quick didn't have to make any saves in the final 11:47 of the game.
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"That's the kind of game we want to play, that third period," Quick
said. "It's a solid road third period -- you don't give up much and
you make them work to gain zones. Scoring a goal there at the
beginning of the period was huge to give us a little bit more of a
gap. It was a great third period, exactly what we were looking for."
Quick, who was the backup Wednesday for the Kings' 6-4 road victory
over the Colorado Avalanche, now has four shutouts this season and
29 for his career.
"We just couldn't score," said Flames coach Bob Hartley, who praised
the focus of his squad in its first game after the Olympic break.
"Quick was real good. A couple of power-play chances, he came out
and made some huge saves. It's too bad. I really liked the effort. I
liked the focus, the way that we approached the game. We did
everything right except scoring goals."
The Kings return home for Saturday's contest against the Carolina
Hurricanes at Staples Center, while the Flames head north for a
Battle of Alberta against the Edmonton Oilers.
NOTES: Flames D Chris Butler left the game due to a lower-body
injury in the third period and did not return. ... Calgary G Joni
Ortio and C Markus Granlund both made their NHL debuts against the
Kings. Ortio, 22, earned a call-up after posting a 2.22
goals-against average and .926 save percentage in 28 appearances for
AHL Abbotsford. Granlund, 20, racked up 23 goals and 21 assists in
50 games at the minor league level ... Kings D Robyn Regehr returned
to the Scotiabank Saddledome for the first time since the Flames
traded him to the Buffalo Sabres in June 2011, and he was saluted
with a video tribute during the first period. Regehr, 33, spent 11
seasons with the Flames and ranks second in franchise history with
826 games played. ... Flames LW Curtis Glencross (high ankle sprain)
and RW Brian McGrattan (shoulder) participated in Thursday's morning
skate but are not yet ready to return to the lineup. The Flames also
were without G Karri Ramo due to a knee injury ... The Kings'
healthy scratches were RW Matt Frattin, D Matt Greene and LW Tanner
Pearson.
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