The Los Angeles Kings pounded the New Jersey Devils 4-0 on Monday to move to the brink of claiming the franchise’s first Stanley Cup and concluding their unlikely playoff run in true Hollywood fashion.
The brilliant Jonathan Quick recorded his third shutout of the post-season, while Anze Kopitar, Alec Martinez, Jeff Carter and Justin Williams all scored to hand the Kings a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Kings can now finish off the Devils and hoist the Stanley Cup on home ice if they can complete the unlikely sweep with a Game 4 win at the Staples Center today.
Photo: Reuters
The victory was another step in a remarkable journey for the Kings, who scraped into the post-season as the eighth seeds after losing more games than they won, but they have reigned supreme in the playoffs, boasting a 15-2 record.
Only one team, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, have clawed back from 3-0 deficit to steal the Cup, but the cautious Kings are not planning a victory parade just yet.
“We’re going to keep pushing forward,” Los Angeles’ Justin Williams told reporters. “We’re a focused group right now, we’re not going to let anything get in our way. We certainly don’t want to get back on that plane. We’re tasting that we’re close and that should drive us even more.”
Boasting a perfect 10-0 on the road in the post-season, the Kings showed they could be just as dominant at home, with Quick stopping all 22 shots he faced to demonstrate why he is the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup’s most outstanding player.
Quick has received plenty of support, with defensemen throwing themselves in front of shots, while the rest have been swallowed up by the Kings netminder, who has surrendered just two goals in three games on more than 70 shots.
“You need outstanding goaltending to win playoff games,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. “He’s given us that.”
Following a scoreless opening period, the Devils had the early run of play in the second, but again it was the Kings who were on the scoreboard first when Martinez jammed home a loose puck from a goalmouth scramble after Martin Brodeur had denied Dwight King twice from close range.
The Kings added to their lead with 4 minutes, 53 seconds left to play in the second when Kopitar took a pinpoint feed from captain Dustin Brown and redirected it past a helpless Brodeur.
After a pair of 2-1 overtime nail-biters in New Jersey, the Kings ended the drama early with powerplay tallies at the start of the third period from Jeff Carter and Justin Williams, sparking chants of “We want the Cup” from the ecstatic home fans.
In an extraordinary post-season that has seen the Kings set a string of records and firsts perhaps the most impressive is that they have charged to 3-0 leads in all four series.
The Devils had their chances and they enjoyed a four-minute man-advantage late in the opening period when Carter was sent off for high-sticking, but they could not convert any of their five power plays. Los Angeles are 12-for-12 on the penalty kill in the finals.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS