Sep 20, 2016
Doughty, Canada set to go against USA's Quick
While the Los Angeles Kings netminder is considered one of the sport’s best big-game goaltenders, he will be facing teammate Doughty and the high-powered Canadian offence.
TORONTO — Drew Doughty said his Team Canada teammates ask him all the time how best to beat his Kings backstop and Team USA netminder Jonathan Quick.
The questions heat up whenever Canada and the United States clash, but Doughty doesn’t dole out many answers about one of the sport’s best big-game goaltenders.
“I don’t give them too much on Quickie,” Doughty said.
That isn’t because Doughty is holding back. He is not afraid to arm Canadian mates Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Logan Couture with knowledge that will hurt Doughty and the Kings in the regular season.
“To be honest, Quickie doesn’t have too many weak points,” Doughty said. “There’s not much that I can say about him that will beat him. I’ll let them know where I beat him, though I don’t beat him much in practice.
“He’s like any good goalie. Like Carey Price, you’ve got to get traffic in front of him and get the puck up. That’s how you’re going to score.”
John Tavares said he would dime out Islanders teammate Jaroslav Halak without second thought if Halak is in net when Canada faces Team Europe.
“I’m sure Jaro’s going to say things about me, so why should I hold back on him?” Tavares asked. “You play to win. We're here to win and represent our country. You’ve got to be as well-prepared as you can be.”
Quick, 30, has faced Canada twice in international play and allowed just two goals on 70 shots, including an exhibition game early in this World Cup of Hockey. He was nearly flawless in Team USA’s 1-0 semi-final loss in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. (It was Ryan Miller who gave Canada fits in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, with Quick serving as his backup.)
Quick cemented his clutch reputation with Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. He won all 16 games for the Kings both years, something Matt Murray, Corey Crawford and Tuukka Rask all failed to do in their most recent Cup wins.
Mike Babcock said Canada’s coaching staff will do a thorough pre-scout and try to glean any helpful information from Doughty.
“We do everything we can,” Babcock said. “We did it the last time we played Quick, too, but we didn’t get [many] by him.
“Goaltending is the greatest equalizer in our sport. The bottom line is what I’ve seen in this team eight-team tournament: There’s a goalie on the other team each night that can flat-out beat you if you let him.”
Watching Quick “steal games all the time,” Doughty said the key is to get to him early, because a hot start can fuel him for all 60 minutes.
“Quickie is a hell of a goalie,” Ducks forward Getzlaf said. “I play against him a lot. He’s good every night. We’ve just got to keep going, keep getting pucks to him, and work hard to break him down. He’s a goalie that you have to get second and third opportunities. And we’re going to do that.’’
Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli