In Las Vegas, Marc-André Fleury restarted his career at the age of 33 in 2017/18, but are we seeing the same phenomenon in the case of 37-year veteran Jonathan Quick?
Since arriving in the Mojave Desert, Quick has been uncompromising with a 4-0-0/.930/2.22 record.
Four games is a small selection, but his results are far more interesting than with the Kings this season, where he has a record of 11-13-4/.876/3.50.
Still, the Kings play good hockey. For their part, if we certainly miss the man and legend in the dressing room, they will be served very well by their new signing Joonas Korpisalo (3-0-0/0.929/2.00).
Let’s assume that Quick and Korpisalo’s performances are encouraging with the playoffs approaching. For now, it seems unlikely that they will meet in the first round, but a Los Angeles-Vegas duel in the second round is possible. What a spectacle it would be to see Quick against his former team.
Korpisalo is believed to be the Kings’ starter for the start of the playoffs, but that remains to be seen on the Vegas side. Their number one goalkeeper, Logan Thompson, is injured and is assessed weekly. Will he return to top form?
Don’t bet against Quick
Otherwise, Quick could well be the man in goal for the Golden Knights and although he’s 37 years old, you shouldn’t bet against him, winner of two Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe Trophy.
An athlete of his caliber just begs for a chance to put in a scoring last loop, and if Quick wasn’t perhaps the most consistent elite goalie amongst the best of the past decade when he was at his peak, he might have been for the best.
He loves the pressure. Who doesn’t remember his brilliance in the 2012 conquest with a record of 16-4/.946/1.41? It’s definitely one of the greatest performances in playoff history. In the final against the Devils and Martin Brodeur, he only allowed seven goals in six games.
The rise of 2014
In 2014, he struggled in the first round against the San Jose Sharks with three straight losses, but he led his team to an incredible comeback, winning in seven games. He had only allowed two goals in the last three games.
Let’s not project too fast, but the hibernating bear seems wide awake. The next few weeks will be interesting to watch, especially in Vegas. Will Quick be the town darling like Fleury? Will Thompson return to the game? In which form? Adin Hill is also on the sidelines.
And let’s not forget that Kings and Knights are fighting for the top spot in the Pacific Division. It’s an exciting race. In short, Quick is already in the middle of a battle against his former club. Unfortunately there is only one more duel between the two teams on April 6th in Vegas.
top 30
Despite allowing five goals for the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, Linus Ullmark remains at the top of our top 30 for the 15th straight week.
However, his lead over Ilya Sorokin is now only 16 points. The only thing against Ullmark in our ranking is the number of games played, which is only 41. He’ll finish the season with 49 or 50 games total.
Six other goalies have already reached the 50-game mark and may reach 60, namely Jake Oettinger, Connor Hellebuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jordan Binnington, Ilya Sorokin and Juuse Saros.
