Martinez: `Right place at the right time’

Into the play, like a flash, came Alec Martinez. With New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur reaching in an attempt to cover the puck, Martinez poked at it and pushed it over the line for his first career NHL playoff goal, a goal that gave the Kings a 1-0 lead in the second period of Game 2 last night. Immediately before Martinez joined the play, Dwight King had been whacking at the puck from close range. Did Martinez even see the puck before he jammed it in?

MARTINEZ: “Kind of. It was kind of underneath his pad, but hanging out a little bit. I don’t really know. I don’t think that they were too happy about it. I just saw it laying there. Kinger and I both were whacking at it. I tried to take as many whacks as I could, and fortunately one was able to go in. It was a great play by those three. They did a great job on the forecheck, getting the puck stopped. I think I was giving Stolly [Jarret Stoll] credit yesterday, in all the interviews, for a big hit, but it was actually, I think, Kinger. But, like I said, they did a great job on the forecheck. They’ve been doing it all playoffs long, and that was the reason for it. I think I was just in the right place at the right time.’’

The Devils, not surprisingly, saw things a little differently, as Brodeur, other players and coach Peter DeBoer complained that the on-ice officials should have blown the whistle and given Brodeur credit for covering the puck. DeBoer was asked whether he received an explanation from the officials…

DEBOER: “I didn’t get one. I didn’t ask for one. I mean, I guess you have an opportunity on the ice, right, for the referee to come over and explain to you the thought process. That was the opportunity I did not get. I didn’t pursue one after the game. I think it’s pretty evident to me, after re-looking at it, that it shouldn’t have counted. It was a critical time in the game. So it’s unfortunate.’’

Both coaches played a bit of the woe-is-us game, in terms of the officiating. Darryl Sutter, asked about the constant pursuit of improved play, talked about some of the penalties his players took, and also got in a little jab at what he judged to be inconsistencies in how goalie-interference penalties were called.

SUTTER: “We took a couple penalties in our own zone, an elbowing and a holding. Carts [Jeff Carter], they’re going to call that (high-sticking) automatic, the four minutes. We ain’t gonna get no call. Brodeur got a call last night and Quick didn’t. We’re not going to get one. Those are the challenges that we face.’’