Post by thedarkangel1975 on Jun 4, 2012 22:35:03 GMT -5
LOS ANGELES -- At one point, after another incredible save by Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown skated by his goaltender, shook his head and unsuccessfully tried to hold back a mischievous smile.
Quick had just robbed Travis Zajac on a point-blank chance, but it has been that kind of postseason for the Kings. Whenever it seems like it can't get any better for a team that needed 81 games to qualify for the postseason, it does -- and they are now one victory away from capping quite possibly the most remarkable run to a championship in NHL history.
Buoyed at first by strong goaltending from Quick a dominant group of penalty-killers in front of him, the Kings held off an early surge by the New Jersey Devils before blitzing them with four unanswered goals in a 4-0 victory in Game 3 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.
The Kings now lead the series 3-0, just as they did against their foes in the first three rounds. Los Angeles will have its first of four tries to claim the Cup for the first time in franchise history Wednesday night here at Staples Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).
Quick finished with 22 saves for his team-record third shutout of the postseason. Quick's brilliance appeared to have gotten into the Devils' heads -- they missed the target on 21 other attempts, including a number of excellent scoring chances.
Quick and the penalty-killers were the stars through two periods, as the Kings grabbed a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes before putting the game away with a pair of power-play goals early in the third period
The Devils had their best spurt of the game early in the second, but Quick made a trip of quality saves to keep the score even. One, on a breakaway for David Clarkson, came just seconds before the Kings grabbed the lead.
Alec Martinez put the Kings in front 1-0 at 5:14. Dwight King emerged from a scrum along the right wall with the puck, but New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur stopped his original attempt. King kept swiping at the puck and Martinez finally tucked it inside the near post for his first of the series.
Brodeur argued after the play that he had the puck covered, but referee Dan O'Halloran didn't blow the whistle.
The Devils continued to generate chances -- and Quick continued to deny them -- until Anze Kopitar scored the prettiest goal to date of the Final at 15:07 for a 2-0 lead.
Justin Williams left a drop pass off the boards near the right wall to Dustin Brown, and the Kings captain found Kopitar on the far side of the ice cutting to the net. Kopitar lifted the puck over Brodeur for his second goal of this series and his eighth of the postseason, which ties him for the most in the League along with Philadelphia's Claude Giroux and Danny Briere.
Jeff Carter and Williams put the game away with power-play goals in a 2:32 span of the third period on the Kings' only two advantages of the game -- after L.A.'s penalty-killers denied New Jersey on all six advantages, including a 60-second 5-on-3 advantage in the first period.
There was no score after the first period, but the visiting Devils missed a great opportunity to grab a lead for the first time in this series.
The Kings were able to kill off the two-man advantage after Mike Richards and Jeff Carter ended up in the penalty box a minute apart. Carter's was a double minor, so there could have been 3:00 of 5-on-4 time for the Devils after the 5-on-3, but Richards came out of the penalty box and drew a penalty on Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky to negate part of that.
Quick had seven saves in the period, including three with his team on the penalty kill. Brodeur had to make six stops. The Kings had the better chances early in the first, while the Devils began to force more turnovers and keep control of the puck in the second half, which also led to the Richards penalty.
Los Angeles came into Game 3 after a pair of 2-1 overtime victories at Prudential Center, but the big news from Monday morning was the return of Simon Gagne to the Kings' lineup.
Gagne has not played since Dec. 26 because of a concussion but he replaced Brad Richardson in the lineup, and he saw 6:39 of ice time on Los Angeles' fourth line. Gagne had seven goals and 17 points in 34 games before the concussion, and has seven seasons with at least 20 goals in his career.
Quick had just robbed Travis Zajac on a point-blank chance, but it has been that kind of postseason for the Kings. Whenever it seems like it can't get any better for a team that needed 81 games to qualify for the postseason, it does -- and they are now one victory away from capping quite possibly the most remarkable run to a championship in NHL history.
Buoyed at first by strong goaltending from Quick a dominant group of penalty-killers in front of him, the Kings held off an early surge by the New Jersey Devils before blitzing them with four unanswered goals in a 4-0 victory in Game 3 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.
The Kings now lead the series 3-0, just as they did against their foes in the first three rounds. Los Angeles will have its first of four tries to claim the Cup for the first time in franchise history Wednesday night here at Staples Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).
Quick finished with 22 saves for his team-record third shutout of the postseason. Quick's brilliance appeared to have gotten into the Devils' heads -- they missed the target on 21 other attempts, including a number of excellent scoring chances.
Quick and the penalty-killers were the stars through two periods, as the Kings grabbed a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes before putting the game away with a pair of power-play goals early in the third period
The Devils had their best spurt of the game early in the second, but Quick made a trip of quality saves to keep the score even. One, on a breakaway for David Clarkson, came just seconds before the Kings grabbed the lead.
Alec Martinez put the Kings in front 1-0 at 5:14. Dwight King emerged from a scrum along the right wall with the puck, but New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur stopped his original attempt. King kept swiping at the puck and Martinez finally tucked it inside the near post for his first of the series.
Brodeur argued after the play that he had the puck covered, but referee Dan O'Halloran didn't blow the whistle.
The Devils continued to generate chances -- and Quick continued to deny them -- until Anze Kopitar scored the prettiest goal to date of the Final at 15:07 for a 2-0 lead.
Justin Williams left a drop pass off the boards near the right wall to Dustin Brown, and the Kings captain found Kopitar on the far side of the ice cutting to the net. Kopitar lifted the puck over Brodeur for his second goal of this series and his eighth of the postseason, which ties him for the most in the League along with Philadelphia's Claude Giroux and Danny Briere.
Jeff Carter and Williams put the game away with power-play goals in a 2:32 span of the third period on the Kings' only two advantages of the game -- after L.A.'s penalty-killers denied New Jersey on all six advantages, including a 60-second 5-on-3 advantage in the first period.
There was no score after the first period, but the visiting Devils missed a great opportunity to grab a lead for the first time in this series.
The Kings were able to kill off the two-man advantage after Mike Richards and Jeff Carter ended up in the penalty box a minute apart. Carter's was a double minor, so there could have been 3:00 of 5-on-4 time for the Devils after the 5-on-3, but Richards came out of the penalty box and drew a penalty on Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky to negate part of that.
Quick had seven saves in the period, including three with his team on the penalty kill. Brodeur had to make six stops. The Kings had the better chances early in the first, while the Devils began to force more turnovers and keep control of the puck in the second half, which also led to the Richards penalty.
Los Angeles came into Game 3 after a pair of 2-1 overtime victories at Prudential Center, but the big news from Monday morning was the return of Simon Gagne to the Kings' lineup.
Gagne has not played since Dec. 26 because of a concussion but he replaced Brad Richardson in the lineup, and he saw 6:39 of ice time on Los Angeles' fourth line. Gagne had seven goals and 17 points in 34 games before the concussion, and has seven seasons with at least 20 goals in his career.
