The Key Three: June 4

It felt like the hockey equivalent of ducking under a desk during a major earthquake. If the Kings could somehow, some way, ride out four minutes of New Jersey Devils power-play time late in the first period — one minute of it at 5-on-3 — they could perhaps deflate the Devils a bit and gain some momentum. Nobody in Staples Center could have predicted how well the scenario would turn out for the Kings. They killed the two-man advantage, then had two more minutes lopped off when Marek Zidlicky tripped Mike Richards. The Kings escaped the first period tied 0-0, then took the lead 5:40 into the second period.

Once again, the Devils must have awakened this morning trying to put the pieces together. What went wrong? The Devils controlled the first period, but by the end of the second period, they were down 2-0, and then the Kings delivered the knockout punch with two power-play goals in the third period. That’s right, two power-play goals. Jonathan Quick, well, it’s now almost an afterthought when he turns in a flawless 22-save shutout, but it shouldn’t be. Quick’s effort when the game was still tight allowed the Kings enough time to get their game going and score some goals. What was the key aspect of the Kings’ 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils in Game 3? I present three options at the link below, and you can vote for your choice…

The Key Three: June 4

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