NEWARK, NJ – The Los Angeles Kings continued their road success this post season with a dramatic OT goal from Anze Kopitar with just over 10 minutes left in the first extra session.
Kopitar’s goal capped a night of testing by both teams of the other’s defense and goaltending. But the ending was a result of a defenseman out of position at the blue line and an opportunistic forward taking a near perfect feed for a breakaway goal.
“ Well, the battle was just inside our zone. I think Brownie (Dustin Brown) chipped the puck out to Justin (Williams) and I kind of just wanted to make sure I stayed in the middle. Worked out pretty well after that,” Kopitar said to describe the goal after the game.
“ It feels great. Every time you get the chance to finish it off in OT, you know, to face a world class goaltender like Marty (Brodeur) is, it’s definitely a good feeling,” he added.
Of the tenuous nature of the match Kopitar said it was not the game plan going into game one.
“ Well, that was really not the plan, to feel them out for two periods. You know, you want to get out as hard as you can. Especially on the road, you have to have a good start,” Kopitar said. “Tonight maybe we didn’t have the start we needed. We got the first goal, which was huge for us. After that we kind of got legs underneath us and we were able to generate some chances.
“You know, they don’t give up a whole lot. You have to be careful going through the neutral zone, that you don’t make any turnovers, because they got some speedy forwards, some forwards obviously that can finish. You have to await turnovers and just make sure you make strong plays.”
Kings head coach Darryl Sutter was quick to recognize Brodeur’s efforts in the extra session.
“ Well, I think Marty made two huge saves in the third period, too. That’s what both goalies are here for, right? It’s not one ahead of the other or anything different. They’re going to have to make big saves and keep it low scoring,” Sutter said after the game.
For Kopitar, the game winner came on a forehand shot.
“ I went forehand (smiling). I guess that goes back a few years when, you know, we were in the shootout in L.A., and I went backhand on him. Maybe he thought I was going to do it again. Tonight I just wanted to mix it up a little bit,” he said of the shot.
Asked about his impressions of what the Kings did well in game one Sutter pointed to the opening minutes and first period.
“Thought we had a good start to the game. We did a good job in the first period based on New Jersey, the way they’ve played in first periods in the playoffs. We knew that was going to be a challenge for us. With the travel, our guys felt sluggish yesterday (Wednesday),” Sutter said. “That’s an area that I thought we were good at. Obviously an area we can get better at. We’ll use tomorrow’s practice for that.“ Sutter made strong use of his fourth line in game one. He was conscious of the short bench tactic and went to the fourth line considering the “nerves” of the entire team and the Devils.
“ I think when you have time off, it’s interesting from a coaching standpoint. You think you can shorten your bench because guys are fresher. But really when you have time off, the first thing I could see last night, we did have some sluggish guys, and it was at the top end of our skill set in terms of players. It doesn’t bother me to play, I don’t call them our fourth line, I call it Colin Fraser and whoever is playing with him. So if they’re on, they can play against anybody,” Sutter described of his decision.
“If you look at it, the goal last night was against Zajac’s line. You know what, I’m confident whoever is playing with Fraser, as long as they’re doing the job, you know what, there’s nights where maybe the other team is playing their top line or their top two lines more and you got to be careful. But at the same time, it’s still about performance and the quality play. Last night (Wednesday) worked out.”
Dame two is Saturday night in Newark at the Prudential Center. The series then switches to the left coast for games three and four at the Staples Center.
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