Game 2 Stanley Cup Finals Picks: Los Angeles Kings at New Jersey Devils

Saturday, June 02, 2012

Frank Martin

No team has been able to use home-ice advantage to subdue the Los Angeles Kings so far in the postseason.

That includes the New Jersey Devils, who fought gamely but ultimately dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the visiting Kings in the opening game of the Stanley Cup finals.

Los Angeles will look to stretch its road record to 10-0 as it takes on the Devils in Saturday's Game 2.

Anze Kopitar was the hero in the opener, scoring on a breakaway as the Kings improved to 13-2 in the playoffs.

- Los Angeles Kings @ New Jersey Devils
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, June 2, 2012
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS
Check Live NHL Hockey Odds on Sportsbook.com .

Sportsbook.com currently have the Kings listed as -115moneyline favorites versus the Devils.

Los Angeles Kings: Los Angeles has made it look easy throughout the postseason, but the players know they're going to get a difficult test from the upstart Devils. "They're a great team," said Kings winger Justin Williams. "They come at you hard. They don't give you any space. They've got a heck of a forecheck and a great goalie. We expect more of this throughout the series." Kopitar came into the series with a reputation for big goals and emerged as the X-factor in Game 1. The Slovenian star is red-hot, with six goals and six assists over his last nine games.

New Jersey Devils: New Jersey knows it will need more than one shot every four minutes to win its first Stanley Cup since 2003. The Devils managed just 17 shots on Kings netminder Jonathan Quick, and head coach Peter DeBoer said his team probably deserved to lose for that reason. "It would have been nice to get a bounce, but I don't believe we deserved to win," he said. "That's the bottom line. If we had won, we would have been sneaking one out." Zach Parise was a minus-two in defeat, but extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one shot on goal to 186.

1. Los Angeles managed just 25 shots in the opener, its lowest total since a series-clinching win over St. Louis in Round 2.

2. Wednesday marked Brodeur's 200th career postseason game, making him the 20th NHL player to reach the plateau.

3. Kopitar led the Kings' forwards in ice time (22:01) and shots on goal (four).

NHL HOCKEY PREDICTION: Devils 3, Kings 2.

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anze kopitar - jonathan quick - justin williams - los angeles kings - new jersey devils - peter deboer - prudential center - zach parise