Jonathan Quick's return sparks Kings in win over Ducks

LOS ANGELES – After Jonathan Quick suffered a groin injury in the first game of the 2016-17 season, the Los Angeles Kings’ starting goaltender wondered when, or even if, he could make a successful return to the ice.

“Obviously when you first get hurt, everything runs through your mind. You start thinking thoughts that maybe you shouldn’t,” Quick said. “I was glad it worked out that I was able to come back and play here.”

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In his first game back with the Kings since he played one period on Oct. 12 at the San Jose Sharks, Quick looked like his usual explosive, aggressive self in stopping 32 of 33 shots on goal in a crucial 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Staples Center on Saturday.

Though Los Angeles played well with Peter Budaj in net as the Kings waited for Quick to return, the team recognized that there’s a difference with the former all-star, Conn Smythe winner and Vezina Trophy finalist is in the lineup.

“Having Quickie, we know we can trust him,” Kings forward Tyler Toffoli said. “We knew we could trust (Budaj) too. It doesn’t really make a difference, but like I said, Quickie made some huge saves for us, kept us in the game early and we stayed with it, and kept getting shots and scored some goals.”

With goaltenders, especially ones like Quick who rely so much on speed and flexibility, there can be some worry that an injured groin can hamper these attributes. On Saturday, Quick didn’t seem hindered at all by his injury, or rusty because of the long recovery time.

It was tough to fault Quick on the Ducks’ only goal by Andrew Cogliano at the 16:53 mark of the first period on a 3-on-2 rush. The rest of the way, Quick didn’t allow much at all and gave his team a chance to find its offense, which the Kings did with four goals in the third period.

“Well, we got two points so that’s always a good feeling. So it was good, it was great to be in the locker room, game day and everything and be part of it, you know?” Quick said.

Since the injury, the timing of Quick’s return had felt like somewhat of a mystery. He had a non-surgical procedure in mid-October and the Kings initially said his timetable was about three months. They then pushed a potential return back until mid-February and most recently, Los Angeles general manager Dean Lombardi said Quick could be back in early March.

Quick had been practicing with the team since early February and said he knew he was ready to jump back into game action Friday without any worry of a recurrence

“Everything feels good,” Quick said. “I wouldn’t have played if it didn’t feel good.”

When he was announced as the starter, the sell-out crowd of 18,230 gave a loud ovation.

“It was exciting for everybody,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. “Players, coaches, fans, it was fun to see. He’s an emotional leader in a lot of ways for our hockey club. It’s good to have him back in the room.”

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Is Quick’s return enough to get the team into the playoffs? The Kings now have 64 points in 61 games played, three points back of the St. Louis Blues for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Even without Quick, defense hasn’t been a problem with Los Angeles and the Kings now rank fifth in the NHL in goals allowed per-game with 2.43. Offense (2.44 goals per-game) has been Los Angeles’ main issue, and while Quick’s abilities at stopping the puck can enable them to open up their game to a degree, he likely won’t impact the Kings’ scoring all that much.

Still, adding one of the best goaltenders in the NHL back to the group certainly shouldn’t hurt and can give the team the boost it has been looking for.

“That’s the game we play, not give up a whole lot,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. “Obviously we won tonight and I think if we give up one, even though we’re not a scoring machine, we’ll win more likely than not, so that’s kind of like our formula and has been for the past five or six years, so it’s worked so we have to stick to it.”

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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