Todd McLellan talks “A” game, Quick’s dominance, Fleury gets 500, and Other LA Kings Bullets
Ryan Sikes 
After coming out flat against the Vancouver Canucks, the LA Kings looked much more aggressive in their 4-0 win against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. The Stars, who saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end in Vegas the night before, scored three goals on the powerplay against the Golden Knights.
However, the LA Kings kept them off the board on three opportunities. Head coach Todd McLellan was pleased with every facet of the team’s win on Thursday:
“I was asked this morning or yesterday, what do you want to see at the start of a game when a team’s playing back-to-back, and that’s what we wanted to see. On our toes, aggressive, have the puck a lot. Special teams, power play didn’t lose us any momentum, maybe gained us a little, penalty kill was good and goaltending was outstanding. That was an ‘A’ game.”
- Jonathan Quick collected his 56th career shutout on Thursday. When asked if the win or the shutout meant more to him, he was… quick (yes, pun intended) to respond, “No. Just wins. Next.”
Quicky on number 56#GoKingsGo | @LAKings pic.twitter.com/yzyb0ZruTR
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) December 10, 2021
- Quick’s .931 SV% and 2.11 GAA are sixth and seventh-best for goalies with at least ten starts, respectively.
- A big honor for Blackhawks’ netminder Marc-Andre Fleury last night, who recorded his 500th career win in the team’s 2-0 shutout in Montreal. The former Penguin and Golden Knight joined Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur as the only three goalies to reach the milestone.
“I think the hardest thing to do as a goalie is to play in this League with longevity and consistency,” Canadiens netminder Jake Allen said in advance of Thursday’s game. “Not many guys can do it, only a few guys can. Five hundred wins puts him behind Marty and Patrick, and it’s just an amazing accomplishment.”
- Straight from NHL PR – Fleury (901 GP) required the fewest games to reach the milestone, besting Martin Brodeur (908 GP) by seven appearances and Patrick Roy (933 GP) by 32. The LA Kings won’t see the Blackhawks until April 12 and will see them twice in 10 days.
On this day in 2021, Marc-Andre Fleury became just the third goaltender in NHL history to record 500 career wins #Hockey365 #Blackhawks 🌸 pic.twitter.com/iwGAB043m9
— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) December 10, 2021
- A really cool story here: Blues’ forward Nathan Walker was recalled from the AHL on Wednesday in an emergency situation. Well, he recorded his first career hat-trick on Thursday night in the team’s 6-2 win over Detroit.
HAT TRICK NATHAN WALKER!!! 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/sl3uWUIwmf
— NHL (@NHL) December 10, 2021
- The Colorado Avalanche failed to score seven goals in a game last night simply because they didn’t play, LOL.
- Saturday’s opponent for the LA Kings – the Minnesota Wild grabbed the top spot in the NHL standings after besting the Sharks 5-2 last night.
Make it eight straight for the @mnwild! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/CYlKz5YYaw
— NHL (@NHL) December 10, 2021
- The Canucks are a perfect 2-0 since hiring Bruce Boudreau as their new bench boss, including a shutout of the LA Kings on Monday. On Thursday, they also hired Jim Rutherford as the new President of Hockey Operations. He will also serve as the team’s general manager until they can find a permanent replacement for Jim Benning.
- The NHL Board of Governors approved the Penguins sale to the Fenway Sports Group.