The penalty kill in particular was in impressive form on Monday, laying a foundation of frustration for the Devils that would last all evening. The Kings had to get themselves out of a jam early on, dealing with a two-man disadvantage, with Jeff Carter serving a double minor high stick and a Mike Richards an elbowing minor.
Kings head coach Darryl Sutter leaned on veterans Jarret Stoll, Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene to get the job done. Bleacher Report was there when Coach Sutter had this to say about his wily vets:
Well, they're a huge part of our penalty killing and they're the veteran guys in the back end. They give us that stability. You know what you're getting all the time.
Coming to the Kings' rescue along with the likes of Stoll and Mitchell was goaltender Jonathan Quick.
Quick turned aside several chances early on with New Jersey at even strength and on the power play. Coach Peter DeBoer couldn't help but agree that Quick was a difference maker early on,
Yeah, I mean, sure. We need to get the first goal out, absolutely. We had some power play opportunities there. We need to score one. Credit to them. You know, their goalie made some big saves early. We couldn't get one.
And that has been the story of the New Jersey Devils these playoffs. With momentum and constant pressure from the forecheck, the Devils can never quite get one. This type of frustration has been a common enemy of the Kings' postseason opponents. And again, Coach Peter DeBoer could do nothing but agree.
We created some real good chances early. He made some saves. The frustrating part is you're creating some quality chances, you're getting some quality shots, and they're not going ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
