LOS ANGELES >> Goaltending has been a huge issue for the Kings since the moment Jonathan Quick injured his groin in the first period of their season-opening game Oct. 12. Peter Budaj made the big leap from the minor leagues to save the Kings’ season from being a train wreck.
“I don’t want to belabor it, but it’s been the story every night,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said.
Budaj hasn’t been as sharp in recent games as the Kings would like him to be. Jeff Zatkoff, Budaj’s backup, lost Sutter’s confidence a long time ago. Quick has resumed skating and taking shots from his teammates, but there’s no timetable for his return to the lineup.
The Kings could recall Jack Campbell from the Ontario Reign of the AHL to bolster their goaltending until Quick is ready to play again, which is guesstimated to be sometime early next month. Campbell has won 23 games in 37 appearances for the Reign, inheriting the No. 1 spot from Budaj.
Above all, the Kings can’t continue to give up 4.5 goals per game, as they have in the past four games before they faced the Florida Panthers on Saturday at Staples Center, and expect to be a playoff contender. The Kings began the day one point behind the Calgary Flames in the wild-card fight.
Sutter declined the spread the blame around for the Kings’ sudden surge in goals-against.
It’s not the fault of the Kings’ defensemen or their forwards.
“You can’t give up soft goals,” Sutter said. “You’re not going to give up many shots-against, so you’ve got to make some saves, first and foremost. Your goaltender has to be one of your most important players. You need two. We’ve relied on one and we need that one to be better than average.
“If we’re going to be a playoff team, our goaltending has to be better.”
Budaj went into Saturday’s start against the Panthers with a 26-17-3 record, a 2.15 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and a career-high seven shutouts. He was five victories from matching his career high in victories with 31 while with the Colorado Avalanche in 2006-07.
However, Budaj has given up 16 goals on 96 shots in his last four starts. The Kings have given up 18 goals in their past four games. The Kings’ overall goals-against average was 2.43, fifth-best in the NHL before Saturday’s play around the league.
“We started a playoff race the other night and we were down one and didn’t get any saves,” Sutter said, referring to their one-point wild-card deficit to the Flames before they suffered a 5-3 loss Thursday to the Arizona Coyotes at Staples Center.
Nolan update
Jordan Nolan joined his teammates for the latter portion of their optional morning skate Saturday in El Segundo, and he stayed on the ice long after everyone else had left. There is no timetable for his return to the lineup from a lower-body injury that’s sidelined him for six games.
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