Since the end of the first lockout of the Gary Bettman era in 1995, two other championship series openers were decided in overtime. Jason Woolley was the hero for the Buffalo Sabres to start their bout with the Dallas Stars in 1999, while Ron Francis finalized an early victory for the Carolina Hurricanes against Detroit in 2002.
In both cases, the 1-0 series lead failed to morph into a victory, with Buffalo ultimately losing in six games, the Hurricanes in five. But the Kings are entitled to a little jubilation and conviction after clinching their NHL-record ninth road win in as many tries this spring.
Sequentially speaking, Wednesday night was not much different from about half of L.A.’s dozen wins over the first three rounds of the playoffs.
The Kings drew first blood via Colin Fraser at 9:56 of the first period and successfully harbored the resultant 1-0 lead until Anton Volchenkov’s point blast banked off rookie blueliner Slava Voynov and past Jonathan Quick late in the middle frame.
But from there, Quick was at least superficially composed as he engaged his seasoned counterpart, Martin Brodeur, in another epic staring contest. Not unlike his previous bout eight nights prior with Phoenix’s Mike Smith, the dueling netminders nurtured the tie score through the balance of the third period.
And yet again, after repelling nine straight New Jersey shots, Quick prevailed in the bonus stanza. And the Kings converted the winning play with tangible credit going to three skaters performing characteristic maneuvers.
Two-way defenseman Drew Doughty, the top point-getter among blueliners, cleared the zone on an upward feed to Justin Williams. Williams, who entered ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
