New Jersey 3, Los Angeles 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Referees:
Chris Rooney, Dan O'Rourke
Linesmen:
Pierre Racicot, Jean Morin
Attendance:
18867
By SportsDirect Inc.
DEVILS 3, KINGS 1: Adam Henrique's goal with 4:31 remaining in the third period helped visiting New Jersey stay alive in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Devils rookie struck late against Kings netminder Jonathan Quick, preventing Los Angeles from securing its first-ever Stanley Cup championship. Martin Brodeur preserved the win with a 21-save performance, earning his 112th career postseason victory.
Moments after the Kings narrowly missed taking the lead, New Jersey surged back in front for good. David Clarkson entered the Los Angeles zone and fired a cross-ice pass to Henrique, whose wrist shot beat Quick up high for his fourth goal of the playoffs.
Ilya Kovalchuk added an empty netter to pace the Devils, who trimmed the Kings' lead in the best-of-seven to 3-1 will host Game 5 Saturday night at the Prudential Center.
With the teams tied 0-0 after a conservative 40 minutes, The Kings nearly broke the deadlock early the third period. Simon Gagne fed a saucer pass to a wide-open Trevor Lewis, who slipped the puck past Brodeur but wide of the net.
Moments later, Brodeur nearly put his team behind after his clearing attempt glanced off the leg of Kings captain Dustin Brown and slid just wide.
New Jersey overcame the close call and was rewarded with its first lead of the series 7:56 into the frame.
Dainius Zubrus worked the puck back to Bryce Salvador at the point, whose shot was stopped but caromed right to Elias. The veteran forward slid a low backhander past Quick at the edge of the crease, ending the goaltender's shutout streak at 138 minutes, 39 seconds.
The Kings needed just 62 seconds to draw even. With Clarkson in the penalty box for boarding, Mike Richards fed a cross-ice pass to Drew Doughty, whose blast from the right point eluded Brodeur between the pads.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The game drew 18,867 fans, a Staples Center record for a hockey game. ... The Kings, now 15-3 in the playoffs, missed out on a chance to tie the 1988 Oilers for the fewest games needed to win the Stanley Cup in the four-round, best-of-seven era. The Oilers needed just 18 games to win the championship. ... The Anaheim Ducks remain the last team to win the Stanley Cup in their own building, accomplishing the feat exactly five years earlier with a 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Top Game Performances
New Jersey |
|
Los Angeles |
Bryce Salvador 2 |
Points |
Drew Doughty 1 |
Patrik Elias 1 |
Goals |
Drew Doughty 1 |
Bryce Salvador 2 |
Assists |
Anze Kopitar 1 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Drew Doughty 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Martin Brodeur .955 |
Save Percentage |
Jonathan Quick .913 |
Martin Brodeur 21 |
Saves |
Jonathan Quick 21 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
New Jersey
|
24 |
3 |
0-3 |
3-4 |
8 |
34 |
Los Angeles
|
22 |
1 |
1-4 |
3-3 |
6 |
29 |
Upcoming Games
-
Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Kings have a W/L % of .425 after a win and .548 after a loss.
-
New Jersey will play their next game at home against Los Angeles. The Devils have a W/L % of .604 after a win and .559 after a loss.