Kings Goaltender Jonathan Quick Wins Conn Smythe Trophy
In case you missed it, the Los Angeles Kings are your 2011-2012 Stanley Cup Champions.
It was quite a season for the Kings, both for better and for worse. After a busy summer, the Kings didn’t measure up to expectations, ended up firing their coach, and snuck into the postseason as an eight seed. From there, the rest is history.
Along this fantastic run that the Kings had to immortality, Jonathan Quick announced to the world that he is the best goaltender in the National Hockey League. Not that this should have been new information to anyone.
Playing in LA isn’t exactly a small market, but considering how much larger New York is as a hockey market, Henrik Lundqvist took home most of the credit as the top netminder in the league this season. But Quick did more with less and was easily the biggest reason that the Kings were even able to manage a berth in the postseason.
His regular season was absolutely brilliant, with 10 shutouts on the year, with a 1.95 goals-against average. He helped the Kings to be the second best defensive team in the league this season, even if his offense wasn’t able to help him out every night.
In the postseason, Quick reached another level. He posted a record of 16-4, including a shutout in each of the the Kings’ first three series prior to the Stanley Cup Finals. In the Finals, Quick allowed more than one goal in just two out of six games and he only surrendered two in that pair of games as well.
As the Kings’ rebuild took place, Quick was a cornerstone of what they were trying to build up in Hollywood. And it’s only fitting that he took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Kings’ run. You could have made a case for Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar, but without Quick, there’s no Cup.
Heading into next year, there should be little question as to who the most talented goaltender in the National Hockey League is. Quick lives up to his name, as an incredibly fast goaltender and he moves around the crease so well. Combine that with the defensive skill of this Kings team, and you can see why this team was able to put together a successful Stanley Cup run.
And this is just the beginning for Quick and this team.
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