What we learned from the Kings’ 2-0 victory over the Sabres

There were multiple storylines heading into the Kings game against Buffalo on Thursday night but the usual themes emerged by the time they left with their fifth straight victory. Starting and finishing with the performance of goalie Jonathan Quick.

Where does the statue of Jonathan Quick go outside of Staples Center?

Quick and legendary Kings goalie Rogie Vachon have been linked so often in recent years. They shared another record … for a few days.

“It’s like I said the other night,” Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said. “It was just a matter of time.”

By recording the 33rd shutout of his career, Quick moved past Vachon, taking lone possession of the franchise mark. He has recorded two shutouts in his last three games and allowed only two goals in the last four. His goals-against average in the span is an impressive 0.49 and save percentage is .986.

Penalty-killing continues to do the heavy lifting

The big headlines don’t often cover the blue-collar, down-and-dirty work necessary to kill off penalties.

But the Kings continued their flawless run in that department.

Buffalo had three power plays and the Kings have killed off 17 consecutive penalties, dating back to overtime in a 3-2 loss at Arizona on Oct. 11.

Jeff Carter doesn’t really need the morning skate

The high-scoring center was at the Kings’ practice facility on Thursday, but he didn’t take part in the morning skate. For the record, Sutter wasn’t on the ice, either. This was not unusual after back-to-back days of practice and three days off between games.

But Carter had that extra jump and speed in the first period. Seven seconds into his first shift of the game, on the power play, he scored at 36 seconds. It was his fourth goal of the season, one behind the team leader, linemate Tanner Pearson.

You can certainly call Carter efficient. He had two shots on goal, scored on one and set up Anze Kopitar’s second-period goal, also on the power play.

Carter has been held pointless in only two of the Kings’ seven games this season and has had multi-point performances in three of the seven.

Who needs morning skates, anyhow?