The alley band is alive, and the Los Angeles Kings are just three wins abroad from their aboriginal Stanley Cup championship back their birth in 1967. Anze Kopitar's breakaway ambition 8:13 into overtime Wednesday at Prudential Center gave the Kings a 2-1 win adjoin the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Jonathan Quick faced abandoned 17 shots, but he chock-full 16 of them for the win.
The Kings, who bigger to 3-0 in overtime this postseason, are the aboriginal aggregation in NHL history to win its aboriginal nine alley amateur in a individual postseason. If they win Game 2 Saturday at Prudential Center, they will tie a NHL almanac for a lot of alley wins in a individual postseason. They did acquisition a way Wednesday on a appealing play that started with captain Dustin Brown.
He absent the bogie abreast the Kings dejected line, but Drew Doughty came up the bank to abutment him and advertise a abuse canyon up the ice to Justin Williams, who was at the red band abreast the breadth amid the benches. All the while, Kopitar was advancing up the average of the ice.
Since both Devils advanced Dainius Zubrus and defenseman Bryce Salvador converged on Williams, Kopitar was larboard alone. Williams abuse a appealing canyon into amplitude and Kopitar got there in time to aggregate the bogie on his tape, arch to a breakaway on goalie Martin Brodeur. Kopitar deked to his forehand, waited for Brodeur to accomplish low afore he attempt the bogie beneath him and into the net for his seventh ambition of the playoffs and aboriginal overtime winner.
