Zatkoff and Kings Faithful Answering the Question “Now What?”
- Updated: October 17, 2016
Oh no, now what?
The unthinkable happened for Los Angeles Kings fans – their elite, all-planet goaltender Jonathan Quick sustained a “lower body injury” during a slip in the first period of the opening game against the San Jose Sharks on October 12. Since then various reports arose, most of which were sketchy … by design.
Whether it’s surgery or no surgery, a groin or non-groin, “three to four months,” “week to week” or shorter, the fact is being faced: the Kings will be without Quick for an extended period of time and must rest the goaltending responsibilities on Jeff Zatkoff and Peter Budaj. Here we go…
Zatkoff, 29, a third-round draft pick by the Kings in 2006, came to the Kings as a free agent in July after raising the Stanley Cup last year playing 35 regular-season games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Veteran NHL goalie Budaj, 33, did an outstanding job with the Kings AHL affiliate Ontario Reign in 2015/16 (42-14-4 with a 1.75 GAA) before being called up after Quick went down.
Taking Quick’s place in the opener was Zatkoff who gave up one goal on 16 shots through periods two and three. In the next game, the home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers October 15, Zatkoff played the entire game, giving up three goals on the first 15 shots, with the fourth fluky goal ricocheting off the back of his head. At 3:16 of the second, with the wandering goalie out-of-place, Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb slid over to make a save for Zatkoff. The Kings went on to lose 4 – 2 after the giving up the four goals in the appalling second period.
Quick out an unspecified time.
So … gulp, right? Even though the team is only two games into the season, some fans are worried that this trend will continue.
And the coach? Is he worried? Is he ever worried? Pulling for a potential 80-2 season, Darryl Sutter said through Fox Sports West after the injury: “All the trainers said he [Quick] did it sliding. It’s not that big a deal. We got two or three goalies. Good ones.”
After the second loss, Sutter was still focused on potential and not complaint. “In the first period he made two big saves on our penalty kill to keep it 0-0 going into the second. The first two goals were odd-man rushes. It doesn’t matter the goalie. I think he gave us a chance, and I don’t think that was an issue,” Sutter said.
Zatkoff was also matter of fact and not dismayed. “They got to their game in the second. We kind of sat back out our heels,” he said through a Los Angeles Times article. “We never really found it in the second until we came back in here and regrouped. After that, we had a good third. But it’s too late.”
Before that loss, Captain Anze Kopitar told Fox Sports West, “Obviously we have to play our game. Quickie is a big part of this team, but we feel really strong with Peter and Jeff back there. So we play our game and see what happens.”
And they saw what happened. Los Angeles Times reporter Lisa Dillman caught up with Kopitar after the game. “We’re going to go and win games,” the new captain said. “Yeah, he’s arguably the best goalie in the NHL. But we can’t do anything about it. A magic spell won’t bring him back. We’ve got to play with what we’ve got and play hard and a lot better than we did tonight.”
Said Drew Doughty, last year’s Norris Trophy winner, “We relied on the goalie way too much. Zatkoff actually played a really good game, standing on his head for most of the game. It wasn’t a good overall effort.”
Regarding the loss, Fox Sports announcer, Sean O’Donnell would not pin the loss on Zatkoff, though he would have liked to have the goalie “grab the reins and steal you a game.” Said O’Donnell, “There is no way to sugarcoat this; if Jonathan Quick is out for an extended part of the season, it’s gonna hurt.”
Fellow announcer, Jimmy Fox pointed out that the Kings have had to go without Quick in the past. After Quick was injured against the Buffalo
Jeff Zatkoff
Sabres in 2013/14 season, the Kings picked up points in 17 of the 19 games he was out. Fox said he spoke with Zatkoff at a recent practice and asked what message he would send to his teammates. According to Fox, Zatkoff said, “Don’t change a thing.”
Noting the favorable record in 2014 when Quick was out, Fox said, “It can be done, it’s a group effort, everyone must come together.”
So, what could the answer be to the question “now what?” The Kings faithful point forward with an attitude of staying the course … and raising the bar. Now that the elite goaltender is sidelined on the injured reserve for an undisclosed amount of time, it’s time for the Kings to step up, be a unit, play as a team, and rally around what has become known as “Kings hockey,” no matter who is on or off the ice.
Said Kings forward Tyler Toffoli in a LA Times article, “We all know what [Quick] brings for our team and what he’s done here. We can’t be thinking about that; we have to be positive. We’re confident in what we have for our team.”
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