Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The California Goalies

10/22/2014 at 5:21pm EDT

from Jamie McLellan of TSN,

Right now, Quick is the best in the game at tracking pucks. A lot of times when we talk about a goalie who is 'seeing the puck well,' this is exactly what we mean. It's his ability to find pucks through bodies, arms and any other traffic jams that are going on in front of him. We all know of his flexibility, his lateral movement and his competitiveness. He's putting it to good use by finding pucks other goaltenders are unable to track consistently right now.

Coming into the season, we knew Anaheim was deep in goal. But all the talk was of John Gibson and his ability to be a No. 1 keeper. Lost in the shuffle was Frederik Andersen's ability and skill set. Not only did he show people what he's capable of, but Andersen also joined former Boston goalie Ross Brooks as the only two goalies in NHL history to win 25 of their first 30 career starts.

Andersen has started the year 5-0 with a 1.38 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage, improving to 25-5 in his short career. And he already has a shutout to his credit, blanking the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 19....

Antti Niemi is always under fire as a weak link for the Sharks. He has a Stanley Cup from a season when people believed that Chicago outscored his issues in the playoffs. His stumbles in last year's playoffs - as well as in the 2011-12 postseason - didn't help his cause. But his regular season consistency is always there and it's hard to criticize someone who had 39 wins last year and has started the year 3-1 with a 2.70 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage and one shutout. He has put up regular season dominance behind a great regular season team.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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