As the Kings roll on with victory after victory without Jonathan Quick manning the pipes, the inevitable question arises from the depths of hockey talks.
QUICK VS. SCRIVENS
(Insert dramatic music and flames here)
(.....and this guy)
Jonathan Quick.
Credit where credit is due first and foremost though. Ben Scrivens has been tremendous for the Kings. What could we expect from a fringe backup playing in the controversy that was the past goaltending of Toronto? Certainly not this.
When looking at Scrivens numbers it's all good. He has three shutouts, a league best .943 save-percentage, and a second best 1.56 goals against. He has a 7-2-4 record, and a 6-1-4 record since the departure of Jonathan Quick. Clearly he has been a tremendous asset that many did not see coming. His style, while unorthodox, is reminiscent of Jonathan Quick. He has relied on his athleticism to get him out of jams and come up with big saves. To me though, one of his biggest strengths has been his reading of the game. He is an incredibly intelligent goaltender who I have yet to see really overplay a puck or get wildly out of position. He seems like he is always in a position to make a save. With the way the Kings defense has locked it down and dictated shots towards him recently it makes things look...well...easy.
Looking at Quick's numbers. Well...
10-5-0 record, a .905 save percentage, and a 2.35 goals against. Not the greatest fantasy stats that is for sure.
BUT, when you have watched the games from the beginning of the year there is one variable that doesn't show up. The defense.
As mentioned when discussing the style of Scrivens, in a whole the Kings have tightened up defensively and become a stronger unit in their own end from the start of the year til now. It really hasn't even been a comparison. While Quick still has had some uncharacteristic mistakes, it was really difficult to find a game where he was truly at fault for a loss except for maybe the now infamous Ryan McDonagh goal which sunk the Kings against the Rangers.
While most of the statistics look the same, with each goalie facing a similar amount of shots in their time between the irons, the defensive mentality around them has changed dramatically. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.
The Kings were playing tremendously sloppy defense through the first 10-15 games of the season and allowing more powerplays, odd man-rushes, and passes into the slot then I have seen from this team in a long long time. When Quick went down with a grade 2 groin strain during the game in Western New York it seemed to be a wake up call to everyone. You don't have a Vezina finalist and Conn Smythe winner back there anymore.
The mentality has indeed changed. While the Kings are still averaging a ridiculously low 26.1 shots against per game, the goals against have risen from the bottom ten in the league all the way to a staunch number three.
Second chance opportunities are being swept away, lanes are being cleared, passes being cut off, and risky plays being set aside for more intelligent and safe ones. They are dictating where offenses can go when in their zone and keeping shots mainly to the outside. High scoring areas have all but been locked down by the King defense, save for a few opportunities here and there. It truly has been a world of difference from a sloppy start to the year til now.
One can only hope that the Kings somewhat new found defensive mentality will remain once their franchise goaltender is back after Christmas. With still a month left in his recovery and the possible dreaded December slump ahead of them (which seems to be more fact than fiction to the Kings at this point), hopefully the team can keep it up. This month features no shortage in strong opponents, with two matchups against the Stanley Cup champs in the Madhouse, the up and coming Avs and Stars, the division rival San Jose Sharks, and an Ontario/Quebec swing starting on Tuesday.
It's all fun to root for the underdog, like Ben Scrivens has been so often in his career, but the Kings signed Jonathan Quick to a ten-year extension for a reason. He is, and will be the franchises goaltender when he returns. Much respect to Scrivens and now Jones for putting in strong work. It has, however, been a team transformation that ironically started when the team's most valuable defensive piece left the lineup.
Sports has no shortage of ironies, and this looks to be like one of those sort of things.
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