The 13th road game of the 2012 NHL playoffs might have been the most exciting.
The Los Angeles Kings survived the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in overtime to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, where they will meet the St. Louis Blues. Jarret Stoll was the big hero of the game, slipping in the game winner off a pass from Trevor Lewis just 4:27 into overtime.
The Canucks had zero margin for error in their quest to return to the finals after falling behind 3-0 in the series and were simply unable to crack the code on Kings goalie Jonathan Quick.
Quick produced yet another outstanding performance, rejecting 26-of-27 shots for an outstanding 96 percent save rate. There is no question he was the MVP of this series, and the Kings enter the second round of the playoffs with the hottest goalie on the planet.
The Kings were unsuccessful in all three of their power plays, and the Canucks were 1-of-4, but the big difference was the flurry of shots the Kings sprayed the moment overtime began. They registered six compared to only two for the Canucks.
The Kings had lost their last two overtime games, while the Canucks had won their last three. Both of those streaks have been axed.
In the last 13 overtime games in the playoffs, the road team has now won 10 of them—quite a bizarre stat.
As for Vancouver, it was an incredibly disappointing follow-up to last season and now the front office has some major issues to address this summer.
Video Highlights:
The first goal of the game was perfectly set up by the teamwork of the Sedin twins, proving that nobody knows you quite like your own flesh and blood.
This goal is a thing of beauty.
The game-winning goal by Stoll happened because of a lapse by the Canucks defense. They got sloppy with the puck and the Kings took full advantage with a 2-on-1. The pass by ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
