Stanley Cup Finals 2012: The Story So Far, Game 1

Not a bad opener, in fact quite good.

Brodeur and Quick were good, but I'll give the edge to Brodeur because the Devils, I felt, missed finishing a few plays that could have changed the outcome.

That overtime goal by Kopitar was one of the nicest OT goals in a Stanley Cup Finals I've ever seen

The Kings needed this game more than them Devils, just as New Jersey will need game 2 more than Los Angeles.

9 wins in a row in this postseason, and 10 dating back to last year. Their last postseason loss was a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Sharks on April 14, 2011. It's been a long time coming

The way it was

1993

Los Angeles won game 1 vs Montreal on the road. I should saw Gretzky won it. 4-1 LA

1995

New Jersey won game vs the favoured Wings on the road, 2-1. I was their ninth straight win on the road in that postseason, sound familiar?

Attitudes In The Dressing Room At This Point:

Los Angeles: We can beat these guys, and we can win on the road, anywhere

New Jersey: These guys are for real and we need to finish plays better.

My three stars:

Brodeur

Quick

Kopitar

Game Rating Scale 1 (boring) - 10 (exciting)

8, more plays need to be executed and less give aways. But a good goaltending duel and exciting OT goal. Plus some bone crushing hits never hurts, eh?

The Kings: Playoff Veterans @ Such A Young Age!

I keep hearing that the Los Angeles Kings don't have experience, thus they will lose quickly and quietly.

What a bunch of bull.

Thing is, I took it on myself to look this up, and they do have experience.

Justine Williams played in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals with Carolina, and has played 65 playoff games, lifetime.

Mike Richards played in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals with the Miracle Flyers and 77 playoff games, lifetime.

Dustin Penner played in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals with Ottawa, and 54 playoff games, lifetime.

Jeff Carter played in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals with Philadelphia and 61 playoff games, lifetime.

Jarret Stoll (Not Staal, sadly) played in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals with Eric Staal and 49 playoff games, lifetime.

Matt Greene played in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals with Carolina and 44 playoff games, lifetime.

Colin Frasier played in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals with Chicago and 17 playoff games, lifetime.

Rob Scuderi (second oldest player on the team) played in the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Finals with Pittsburgh and 75 playoff games, lifetime.

Drew Doughty has no Stanley Cup Finals experience, but played in the 7 gruelling games in the 2010 Olympic games!

That brings us to the coach, Darryl Sutter. In his second year with Calgary, back in 2004, he took them to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Sutter has coached 115 playoff games, lifetime. In addition, he played in 51 playoff games, lifetime.

Simon Gagne, I left out for the last. I don't know if I would want to play, given that he is recovered from a concussions, which as we saw earlier this year (in the case of Sidney Crosby) can come back at any moment. Gagne is the 2010-2011 Sidney Crosby of 2011-2012. He missed the last 46 games of the season (and 14 playoff games, so far) with his third concussion. If it matters, he's played in the 2010 Stanley Cup finals with the Flyers. Oh yeah, the Kings could use his playoff experience (105 games). Is it worth the risk? Ask Lindros, as a teammate of Gagne in the 1999-2000 regular season and playoffs.


References


Goss, Nicholas. “Stanley Cup Finals 2012: Kings Should Give Simon Gagne Chance to Play vs. Devils.” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report. Web.  26 May. 2012, <bleacherreport.com/articles/1197092-stanley-cup-finals-2012-kings-should-give-simon-gagne-chance-to-play-vs-devils>.

"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 29 May. 2012.  <https://www.nhl.com>

Sports Reference LLC. "(title of a particular page or blank for general citation)." Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History.  http://www.hockey-reference.com. Web. 29 May. 2012.