LOS ANGELES — In the hours leading up to the Game 1 of the Rangers-Kings Stanley Cup final Wednesday at the Staples Center, there was concern about Kings goalie Jonathan Quick.
Quick appeared to slightly injure himself making a high-body save on a shot by teammate Kyle Clifford in Tuesday’s practice. He fell to the ice, seemingly in pain, but later dismissed it as a non-issue while speaking to reporters.
As the Kings worked out in their morning skate Wednesday, Quick was back between the pipes, showing no ill effects and leaving no questions about whether he would start Game 1.
However, there have been questions about how sharp Quick has been in goal for the Kings in these playoffs. His numbers were not exactly awe-inspiring: a 2.86 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
In the Western Conference finals, Quick yielded 23 goals in seven games, including 13 in the last three games, culminating with a 5-4 overtime win in Game 7 on Sunday night.
“A lot has been said about his play, [but] Quickie’s a competitor,’’ Kings captain Dustin Brown said Wednesday. “His save percentage or his numbers might not be as good as it was in 2012 [when the Kings won the Stanley Cup], but he’s still making those game-breaker saves for us that have allowed us to come back or hold the lead and advance.
“We’ve seen it in a game-in, game-out basis. He’s made the saves that have allowed us to keep playing this time of year.’’
The Kings are used to Quick being the better goaltender on the ice. That’s not the case in this series, with the Rangers’ “King,’’ Henrik Lundqvist, on the other side of the rink.
Lundqvist has been the linchpin to the Rangers’ playoff run, entering Game 1 with a 2.03 goals against average and a .928 save percentage in 20 postseason games. Making those numbers even more impressive is they include the clunker in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals in Montreal, where he allowed four goals on 19 shots.
There were those in the Kings dressing room who believed Lundqvist’s presence would motivate Quick to be at his best.
“Just knowing Quickie, knowing there is a world-class goalie on the other side, he’ll be motivated to be very sharp and very good,’’ Brown said.
Asked if he’s concerned about Quick’s health, Brown said, “This is the first I’m hearing about it, so that probably answers your question as to how serious it is.’’
Clifford said he did not overreact when he saw the shot stun Quick for a few moments.
“I didn’t give a thought about it, because we all know tough Quickie is and he can fight through anything,” Clifford said. “He’s fine.’’
You wouldn’t have known it from the peppering Kings coach Darryl Sutter took after the morning skate. One reporter asked Sutter whether he believes his team’s goaltending needs to be better in this series.
“I’m not concerned — he’s been fabulous,’’ Sutter said. “I’m not looking at this playoffs, I’m looking at the whole body of work. I tell Jonathan all the time: ‘If I have one game to play I want Jonathan Quick.’ ’’