Quick might turn into Kings' first elite goalie in a while

Rogie Vachon. Bob Janecyk. Yutaka Fukufuji. Mathieu Garon. Stephane Fiset.

Asked whether he recognized those names, Jonathan Quick replied to each with a laconic "Yup."

As a student of Kings history, Quick also must know of Dan Cloutier, Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Barry Brust, Pauli Jaks, Sean Burke, Jamie Storr, Felix Potvin and Robb Stauber.

And who could forget -- though we'd like to -- Roman Cechmanek?

All of them guarded the Kings' net at one time with wildly varying degrees of success.

Some arrived with fanfare, like Fiset, who was 26 and had played for a Stanley Cup champion in Colorado. Others were stopgap moves, like Fukufuji, who was gone after four games.

And if all the franchise-record seven goalies who appeared in at least one game last season had stood side by side in the crease, the team still might not have won.

From the aforementioned list only Vachon, in the early 1970s, provided top-notch goaltending for more than a few seasons. The Kings' inability to find and develop elite goalies transcends generations and general managers and generally defies common sense.

That's why it's tempting to get excited about Quick, who has two shutouts in his first four starts this season and will start for the fifth consecutive time when the Kings play the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at Staples Center.

He stays square to the shooters. He doesn't get rattled. He's competitive and he's a quick learner -- after being banished to the ECHL last season because he showed up late to a couple of practices, he now takes practice as seriously as games.

"To his credit, he actually handled it pretty well," General Manager Dean Lombardi said.

Son of a father who's a route salesman for Entenmann's bakery and does construction work on the side, the 22-year-old native of Milford, Conn., knows the value of hard work.

Could he lead the Kings to the goaltending promised land? Or will he prolong a long and lamentable net-minding saga?

Quick, chosen in the third round and 72nd overall in the 2005 entry draft out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is aware of all those who have failed before him.

"They've had some great goalies here in the past. I can't let any factors that I can't control affect me," he said Sunday, his close-cropped brown hair still sweaty after a brisk practice at El Segundo.

"I'm just trying to do what I can and help the team win some games."