The Key Three: June 2

For the better part of three periods Saturday, the New Jersey Devils basically tried to slice, dice and filet the Kings, but the Kings persistently missed the knife. For the second consecutive game, the Kings took a first-period lead and never trailed, even though they were forced to play in tie games for extensive periods of times and even though — more times than they would like to count — the Kings were one crossbar or one just-wide deflection away from trailing in Game 2 (or losing it). If Ilya Kovalchuk’s shot late in regulation hits twine instead of metal, this is a very different series right now.

But “ifs’’ don’t matter, and as Darryl Sutter might say, “This isn’t boxing.’’ Games aren’t judged on scorecards, and the Kings made the big plays at the big times to win the game. Jonathan Quick was strong again, and was beaten only on a deflected shot. Drew Doughty scored a world-class goal and played a strong all-around game. Then, in general, the Kings put forth their best effort of the game in overtime, and Jeff Carter made the game-winning play with a great individual effort. The Kings didn’t have two of their best postseason efforts in New Jersey, but they got two Stanley Cup Finals wins and they aren’t giving them back. What was the key aspect of the Kings’ 2-1 overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils in Game 2? I present three options at the link below, and you can vote for your choice…

The Key Three: June 2

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For those who enjoy the traditional game recap, it can be found by clicking here.

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