Kings feeling effects of Jonathan Quick's absence

LOS ANGELES -- If forewarned is forearmed, then the Los Angeles Kings got a pretty good idea of what life without goaltender Jonathan Quick might be like by studying what happened to the Montreal Canadiens last season.
The Canadiens played the final 59 games without goaltender Carey Price, the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner, and his absence was keenly felt as they missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs after starting 10-2-0.
The Kings indefinitely lost Quick, the 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy winner and Vezina Trophy runner-up, on opening night. They've been cobbling together their goaltending ever since, Peter Budaj turning into the starter after beginning the season No. 3 on the depth chart and playing for Ontario of the American Hockey League.

Price met Budaj at Staples Center on Sunday, in what was billed as a goaltending matchup, but really wasn't, not even at the end.
Price won the back-and-forth battle stopping 27 shots in a 5-4 shootout win. The scorers largely had their day in the shootout, from Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar for the Kings, Brian Flynn, Alexander Radulov and Paul Byron for the Canadiens.
"Our team did a good job," Budaj said. "Getting to Carey Price is not the easiest thing in the world. It's probably one of the hardest right now. It's a little disappointing that maybe I could have stopped one or two that I would like to get back."

It was an entertaining game: wide-open, often freewheeling, dominated early by special teams play and pushed into overtime by Andrew Shaw's game-tying goal in the third period. Montreal had to make adjustments up front when it lost center Alex Galchenyuk because of a lower-body injury he sustained in the third.
Four of the first six goals came on the power play - Drew Doughty and Carter scoring for the Kings, Max Pacioretty and Radulov for the Canadiens.
"It was not a goalie's favorite period for sure," Price said of the second. "We had a very strong third and we found a way to win it."

It was the sort of game that two defensively sound teams rarely produce, and it was interesting to see the reaction of the respective coaches after the fact.
Kings coach Darryl Sutter addressed the recent spike in goals-against. Canadiens coach Michel Therrien praised his players and their persistence.
"We were tenacious," Therrien said. "Three times in the game we were behind by one goal."
Price has mostly been spectacular for Montreal this season.
Without Quick, the Kings have been adequate but were obliged to change how they defend, according to Sutter, who said the Kings have largely adjusted to not having their franchise goaltender, but it took them time to do so. For starters, Quick is so good at handling the puck around the net and at steering plays for the Kings defense.

"Peter is not at that level and that's not a criticism," Sutter said last week. "So we've had to make that adjustment. It's affected us a little bit, possession, more time in our zone."
It has also made Sutter a more hands-on bench coach. Instead of rolling four lines, he's playing more of a match-up game, out of necessity. They've had success at home; but's that about to come to an end. After two more home games this week, they play nine consecutive games on the road, a make-or-break stretch of their season.
"The challenge now is that we're going to go into a tough stretch of games where you need two goalies," Sutter said.
It's a challenge Montreal faced last season while Price was out. In the beginning, rookie Mike Condon was exceptional. But over time, the rigors of the schedule caught up to him. Ben Scrivens, Dustin Tokarski, even Charlie Lindgren, all got a chance to play minutes for Montreal, but none came close to the 2.06 goals-against average Price had in his 12 appearances. The Canadiens went from first in the NHL in goals allowed per game (2.24) two seasons ago to 21st last season (2.84). With Price back, they are back in contention for the William Jennings Trophy.
The Kings were third in goals-against per game (2.34), behind the Anaheim Ducks and the Washington Capitals.
Under Sutter, their identity revolves first, last and always around a strong defensive commitment, and so far, as the season approaches the one-third mark, they have stayed afloat in the Pacific Division, and are now getting reinforcements back.
Andy Andreoff, who did not play against Montreal, came off injured reserve Sunday, which obliged the Kings to send Teddy Purcell to Ontario after he cleared waivers. Forward Marian Gaborik returned on Nov. 26 from an injury sustained at the World Cup of Hockey 2016. He has played four games this season and when he gets his legs going, he and Kopitar should take some of the scoring pressure off Carter, who has been their most consistent and productive forward.
Unlike Price, who never made it back last season, the hope is that Quick returns at some point, healthy, fresh and possibly positioned to give the Kings a needed lift when they hit the stretch run.