Kings vs. Oilers: Kings of the Shut Out

Ask anyone who has watched the Kings all season long which player has meant the most in keeping this team in the mix for the playoffs and you'll get the same answer without hesitation -- Jonathan Quick. So it's really no surprise that Quick was incredible once again when it mattered, notching his 10th shut out of the season against the Edmonton Oilers -- and setting a new team record. More importantly, he helped the Kings secure two more huge points en route to their third playoff berth in the past three seasons.

Quick = Goalie God

For the first two periods, it didn't look like those points would be a foregone conclusion. As Anze Kopitar said in a pre-game interview, you don't want to get into a foot race with the Oilers because they can hurt you, and both teams did a lot of running up and down the ice for 40 minutes. Rookie defenceman Slava Voynov finally broke the stalemate early in the third period to get the Kings on the board first.

But as pretty as Voynov's goal was, it was no match for the absolute beauty that followed. That second goal by Dwight Kings was hockey porn at its best! Mike Richards delivered the perfect cross ice chip pass and King read it flawlessly and buried it. It may be my favorite goal of the entire season and it was enough to put away the win for the Kings.

Well done, Savior #1!

Other thoughts from The Queen:

• Our PP has suddenly gone back back to powerless. Martinez, Clifford and King don't know what to do on the power play -- at least not together. When is Jeff Carter coming back?

Rick looks so sad without you Carts....

• Speaking of Kyle Clifford, can someone explain THIS to me?

• Congrats to Colten Teubert. Watching him in training camp as a Kings prospect, I swore he'd never play a game in the NHL and he proved me wrong. Being an emergency call up on a young team helps.

• Jonathan Quick PLAYS big in net, but Devan Dubnyk IS big. The crossbar comes up to his waist, folks. That's a large goaltending animal right there.

• Dustin Penner cruising out by the blue line and Jarret Stoll parked in front of the net. Which one of these things doesn't belong?

• Drew Doughty spent a lot of time defending Ryan Smyth. You could almost see him thinking, "You're not gonna dangle me again, a^*%#*hole." 

• Stay sexy, Justin Williams. Just because you can.

• Season ticket holders doing "This or That" videos? Not as fun as players. Are you SURE we've gone through the whole roster? 

• Congrats to Kings fan Don Burkholder who has seen over 1,000 Kings games and never missed a playoff game. Now THAT is a Kings fan!

The Kings next challenge is the San Jose Sharks. It may sound petty, but NOTHING would make me happier than winning the next two games and eliminating the Sharks from playoff contention. But above all else, I want a win to secure a playoff spot. I'll be biting my nails in 116 if you want to come by and say hello!


GO KINGS GO!!!!