{"id":5863,"date":"2017-01-24T18:28:45","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T23:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=5863"},"modified":"2017-01-24T18:28:45","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T23:28:45","slug":"los-angeles-kings-jonathan-quick-out-until-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/01\/24\/los-angeles-kings-jonathan-quick-out-until-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Kings Jonathan Quick Out Until March"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Kings<\/a> general manager told reporters<\/a> that goalie Jonathan Quick<\/a><\/strong> likely won’t resume play until March at the earliest. Quick sustained a groin injury in the Kings first game of the season against the San Jose Sharks<\/a> back on October 12th.<\/p>\n

Quick played an NHL-high 68 games last season. He was a Vezina Trophy finalist, posting a 2.22 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Last season the Kings finished second in the Pacific Division<\/a> with a record of 48-28-6 and 102 points.<\/p>\n

Filling the Void<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s very clear that Peter Budaj<\/strong> has taken over as the number one goalie in Los Angeles. He has started 38 games for the Kings, posting a 20-14-3 record. Budaj has also put impressive stats this season, a 2.14 GAA and a .916 save percentage. Budaj is also\u00a0fourth in the NHL<\/a> in shutouts with four, two back of \u00a0Washington Capitals’\u00a0Braden Holtby<\/a><\/strong> for the lead. He lead the AHL in wins last year and is on track for the best NHL season of his career.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Kings season could’ve quickly gone south after Quick went down. But instead, Budaj took the opportunity and ran with it.<\/p>\n

Budaj has been a bright spot for a struggling Kings team. Los Angeles has the second worst record in the Pacific Division with 48 points. Without Budaj the Kings would likely be in a much more difficult position.<\/p>\n

The Backup to the Backup<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeff Zatkoff<\/a><\/strong> has also been a relatively capable backup in Quick’s absence, at times. Zatkoff is posting a 2.94 GAA\u00a0and .881 save percentage.\u00a0Not the best numbers, but they’ll do for a third choice goalie. He has only started 12 games since Budaj is shouldering most of the workload.<\/p>\n

While the Kings are at the bottom of the Pacific Division, they are not far out of the playoff picture. They are 12 points back of the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> for third in the division, but just 3 back of the Calgary Flames for the final Wild Card spot in the West.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n