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| Kings forward, Anze Kopitar, celebrates after scoring the OT winner in game 1 against New Jersey |
The first five minutes of the game was a case of both teams trying to find their rhythm against an uncommon opponent. The problem for the Devils was that they continued playing like that for the next 10 minutes while the Kings played like they were supposed to. Hard on the forecheck. Good passing....wait a minute. I just described the first goal:
This was a great effort by the LA fourth line who played great tonight for the Kings. They got in the Devils' faces all night and were really effective. Darryl Sutter used them wisely and they were able to cash in about halfway through the first on a bad Devils' turnover.
This kind of play by the Devils ultimately stopped with about 5 to go in the third when they finally started putting on pressure. But multiple missed opportunities throughout the game proved to be their downfall. Clarkson and Fayne both suffered bad open net misses and they came back to haunt Jersey in this one.
The Kings went on to control much of the 2nd period. They weren't really giving up too many quality chances and it took until about 5 minutes left in the 2nd for the Devils to get their first shot on net, that being a soft roller off the stick of Zach Parise shorthanded. But the Devils stuck around and started throwing shots on net and soon enough they caught a break with Volchenkov's first goal of the post season
That goal late in the second really presented a momentum shift in this contest. The Devils all of a sudden were controlling play and putting on pressure. The start of the third was pretty great for them as LA had no answer for their relentless play. Zach Parise had a golden chance right in front and with the net wide open but just shanked it wide. And then the sly little devil (no pun intended) tried to jam it in with his glove (it was waved off).
As a matter of fact, it took the Kings about 13 minutes to get a decent chance against the Devils as they were really pressed back in their own zone for the main part of the third. And somehow, Martin Brodeur made an incredible two-pad stack save on LA defenseman Drew Doughty.
Both teams went on to split their chances the rest of the way (in a cautious way, in my opinion) and that landed this game in overtime.
There's no other way of saying it besides the Devils outplayed the Kings in overtime. We won the battles along the boards. We outhustled the Kings to the puck. Think of a common cliche' in hockey in hockey, and the Devils probably did it.
But then one play got out of hand for them.
Zach Parise somehow almost got a feed to the stick of Travis Zajac but the puck went over his stick and wrapped around the boards. You can guess what happened next.
Marek Zidlicky pinched, couldn't quite get the puck deep, and got taken out.
A gorgeous bank pass towards centre ice by Doughty.
Another great pass, no look backhand, by Justin Williams, after drawing in a risky pinch by Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador.
Which gave the one player on the Kings who the Devils don't want to be in all alone on the goaltender, Anze Kopitar, a breakaway.
And oh boy, does that man have a nice set of hands.
Anze Kopitar has shown time and time again why he's one of the best players in the NHL. For some reason he's underrated and not as well known, but he's got a wonderful list of sick plays and highlight reel goals to display.
And tonight he has another one.
So just to go over what happened tonight:
-The Kings literally outplayed the Devils in the first period and 2 quarters. They were physical and smart with the puck while the Devils were laid back, passive, and all around unremarkable. Devils' forward Patrick Elias said, "Honestly, we didn't deserve to win tonight...we've got to be a lot better than this". So the team realized their weak efforts. They did pick up their play in the 3rd and in OT but it just was not enough.
-The Devils arena was jumping tonight. A few of my buds made the trip down and they said the atmosphere was incredible.
-The ice at the Prudential Center tonight was disastrous. The building has a history of bad ice conditions and they usually do their best to make the ice as good as possible but tonight it wasn't very good. We constantly saw pucks bouncing, rolling off sticks, and ruining play. It's pretty hot this time of year, both in Jersey and in LA, and it'll be interesting to see how this progresses.
-The fourth line of the LA Kings really had a great game tonight. They were really able to move their legs and establish a forecheck and physical game. Their one goal tonight definitely showed their great play and coach Darryl Sutter rewarded them with at least 3 more minutes of ice time than they normally got. They deserved it and played a great game and will certainly play a factor later in the series.
-I alluded to it in my preview. In order for the Devils to succeed this round, they were going to need big play out of their big men. And sure enough, Dainius Zubrus stepped up with perhaps one of his best efforts this post season. He was skating hard and throwing his body around, something the smaller-sized Devils had to do. He didn't cash in on a goal but came pretty damn close. I said it before, but Zubrus and Alexei Ponikarovsky are both important pieces in this matchup.
-Although the Kings first line cashed in last night to make it 3 goals and 6 assists even strength for first lines against the Devils D in 19 games so far, I still don't think they played their best game. Dustin Brown wasn't really a factor and, for the most part, the Kings top unit was quiet last night. But then they stepped up and scored the one that mattered.
-The Devils shook up their lines a little again tonight. Ilya Kovalchuk was an MIA as, like I've said numerous times already, appears to be injured. Their fourth line, again, was very good.
-This game was unpredictably pretty physical. Both teams were really throwing big hits left and right and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a shortage of ice packs in either locker room. Each team was going for the big hit and many of them connected. The Devils won the hitting contest 44-35, a surprising victory given the height disadvantage. The hitting will certainly keep up through game 2 and will hopefully spice up this series even more.
-Brodeur was really strong tonight stopping 23 of 25 shots and didn't really have a prayer on either goal (people were saying that he shoulda had the first one but I don't put the blame on him for the turnover and the one timer shot). He made several big saves and for the most part looked steady out there. Jonathan Quick also had a steady game for LA. He stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced and although he gave up several sloppy rebounds and appeared to be fighting off the puck at times, he was one of the reasons LA had a chance to win it in OT after the Devils' third period surge.
-As a Devils fan I've seen it a lot. It usually happens against frustrating games against the Rangers. We play a tough game and get several great chances but fail to capitalize. And then we can't quite get the next goal and look up to the scoreboard and see a disappointing loss. This was pretty much the case tonight. Clarkson, Parise, and Fayne all missed wide open nets and failed to put the game away. This happens pretty frequently to the Devils, but they're a good bounce-back kind of team so let's see how they respond in game 2.
-Just to talk about game 2 for a moment. The Devils are indeed a good bounce-back team and respond well to losses by putting it in their rear view mirror. This will be crucial for them in game 2 because if the Kings take the series back to Los Angeles up 2-0, there's no telling how high their confidence would be. The Devils are well aware of their lack of energy early on and will make it a point to start game 2. It's unfortunate for them that they're going to have to wait an extra day but I can see them starting out strong. They're going to have to if they want to make this things a series.
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