Jonathan Quick entered this season knowing things wouldn’t be like last year.
Coming off back surgery and with a 48-game schedule, there were just too many unknowns.
“(Coach Sutter) talked to me prior to the season, saying ‘I’m going to be playing you a lot,'” Quick shared.
And that was the plan. It might even still be the plan. It’s just not happening tonight.
For the second game in a row Sutter will go with Jonathan Bernier.
It had to be a difficult decision for the Kings’ bench boss too. He recently said it hurt him when he pulled Quick from a game in Anaheim. However, a 3-4-2 record after 10 games played – to along with a 2.70 goals-against average and .891 save percentage – just hasn’t been enough to impress LA’s coach.
From Quick’s standpoint, the fact Bernier wants to play more, either in LA or with another team, isn’t something that has strained the relationship between the two goalies.
“You can’t blame somebody for wanting a bigger (role), wanting to be on the ice more,” he explained. “Everybody wants to do it, no matter what position you are. If you’re playing 30 minutes as a defenseman you want to be playing 33. If you’re playing 20 minutes you want to play 23. If you’re playing 10 games, you want to be playing 20. Everybody wants to play. It’s the guys that are comfortable with not playing that much that you have to worry about. In this league you’re supposed to have that competitive desire.”
Which is a fire that clearly burns inside Quick, even though he’s not starting tonight.
“As a goalie, you want to be in there. You want to be there for your team whenever you can. When he (puts) me in there I’ll be ready.”
Despite his stats thus far this season, Quick also continues to maintain that his back isn’t an issue.
“There’s been no new injuries, everything’s fine,” he said. “I’m staying healthy. Obviously, I want to be playing better. So, I’m working at it to make sure I do play better.”
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I am a Bernier fan, my mom lives 20 minutes away from Jonathan’s home town, so I am excited for tonight. I will be cheering loudly!