The NHL Conference finals got underway this past weekend, an indication that the Stanley Cup playoffs are already halfway finished. The playoffs are always a time for major players to step up and lead their teams on stellar runs to the promise land. Over the last few years, a number of major star players have managed the feat. One of them has been Los Angeles Kings' goalie Jonathan Quick. He was the Conn Smythe winner in 2012 for helping the Kings make history as the first eight-seed to win the Cup. Here is a look at Quick's phenomenal postseason.

Prior to the 2011-12 season, Quick was not considered an elite goalie. He was not even considered the goalie of the future for the Kings. That honor was bestowed upon Jonathan Bernier who was expected to steal the job from Quick in 2011-12. Quick had been decent in 2010-11 but brought his game to another level a year later with a .929 save percentage in 69 games. The Kings finished eighth in the Western Conference primarily because of a lack of scoring.

Once the playoffs rolled around, Quick upped his play to a completely different level. It all started in the opening round against the Vancouver Canucks. While his team dominated Vancouver 4-2, Quick had a solid 24 saves. In Game 2, he stopped 46 shots as his team managed another 4-2 victory. His finest performance of the series came in the third game when Quick slammed the door and stopped all 41 shots he faced in a 1-0 shutout win. While he lost in Game 4, he still managed a .900 save percentage in that game and bounced back in a major way with a 26 save performance in a 2-1-overtime series clincher in Game 5. For the series Quick stopped 95.3 percent of the shots he faced.

But he was only getting started. In the second round, Los Angeles matched up against the St. Louis Blues, who were heavily favored as the second seed. But Quick was having none of it and shut down the Blues with 28 saves in a 3-1 Game 1 victory. He stopped 27 shots in a 5-2 win in Game 2 and made another 18 saves in a 4-2 Game 3 victory. In the final game of the series, he stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 3-1 victory; Los Angeles was outshot in three out of the four games but only scored six goals in that span.

In the Western Conference Finals, Quick was equally stellar in helping the Kings run out to a 3-0 series lead on the Phoenix Coyotes. He stopped 25 shots in a 4-2 Game 1 win; he earned a 4-0 shutout (24 stops) in Game 2; and he stopped 18 shots in a 2-1 Game 3 victory. His winning streak was halted at eight games as he gave up two goals in a 2-0 loss; he stopped 19 shots in the effort. In Game 5 Quick responded with 38 stops in a 4-3 overtime win; it was only his second time in the entire postseason that he had conceded three goals.

And then came the finals. Quick was at his best for the opening three games yet again. He stopped 17 of 18 shots in a 2-1 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils; he manufactured a 32 save effort in another 2-1 overtime win in Game 2; and he managed a 22-save shutout in a 4-0 Game 3 victory. But then Quick had his roughest patch of the playoffs. In Game 4 he allowed two goals on 23 shots in a 3-1 loss at home. In Game 5 he allowed two goals on 19 shots in a 2-1 defeat. But in Game 6, he bounced back with a 17-save performance in a 6-1 win that clinched the Cup for the Kings.

Now to break it down. He wound up with an astonishing .946 save percentage throughout the postseason, including three shutouts. He conceded three goals in just two of the 20 games; none of those came in the Cup finals. He allowed one or fewer goals in nine of the 20 games. His performance ranks fourth best all-time in NHL playoff history and is the best for a goalie that played 20 or more games; his also has the best save percentage for a goalie that won the Stanley Cup. The top three-playoff performances feature goalies that played seven or fewer games. Jean-Sebastien Giguere also had a .946 save percentage in 2002-03, but he failed to lift the Cup. He is one of 16 goalies to win the Conn Smythe Trophy and actually has the best save percentage of anyone of them.

Check out some of Quick's finest moments in the 2011-12 postseason: