LA Kings: The month of March team report card

LA Kings (Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports)

Category three: goaltending

Current grade: B+

Previous grade: A

It is clear that Cal Petersen has taken over as the number one goaltender for the LA Kings, and deservedly so. Despite having a record of 3-3-2 for March, he was outstanding. Petersen stopped 243 of the 264 shots he faced for a stellar save percentage of .920%.

As previously mentioned, he beat Vegas twice despite facing 42 shots in each game. In two games against the West Division’s other offensive juggernaut, the Colorado Avalanche, he stopped 80 of 85 shots for a save percentage of .941%. In his one “bad game” for the month in which he gave up six goals on twenty-five shots against the Anaheim Ducks, Petersen was the victim of a few weird deflections and bounces of the puck.

To put it simply, Jonathan Quick struggled in March. He made 112 saves on 128 shots for a save percentage of .875% to go along with a record 1-4-0. To his credit, three of his losses were by one goal each, but that still didn’t help his overall record. At the beginning of the season, it was thought the goaltending duties would be split evenly between Quick and Petersen, but the net now belongs to Petersen. Still, if he overcomes his current struggles, Quick can still be a valuable backup for the LA Kings going forward.

A tip of the hat to Troy Grosenick, who, in his one start of this season on March 10th, stopped 33 of 34 shots to defeat the Anaheim Ducks.