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| The Kings' Dustin Penner hears it from the New Jersey fans while cooling his heels inside the penalty box. The Kings once owned a robust 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. Now the Devils have won two straight and have sent the series to an improbable sixth game in the City of Angels. |
The unlikely Game 6
by rick olivares pic by robert gauthier
For the New Jersey Devils to send the
Stanley Cup Finals to an improbable seventh and deciding game, they have to
know that is has been done before. Taking it one game at a time, the Devils
have won at the Staples Center, 3-1, last June 6 to stave off defeat. Then went
back home at the Pru and won, 2-1.
Then they ended a pair of Los Angeles Kings
streaks. The first was LA’s 15-consecutive penalty-killing streaks when Zach
Parise ended a five-game scoring slump when he scored off an error by LA goalie
Jonathan Quick. And the Kings’ 10-game road win streak was history after the
Game 5 loss.
And although in the past 70 years,
only two teams have come back from a 3-0 hole to send the Stanley Cup to its
ultimate game, only one, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs (over the Detroit Red
Wings) have won four straight to cop the sporting world’s (arguably) most
famous trophy.
So it’s Game 6 and the pressure is all
on the LA Kings. They have to find a way to beat Martin Brodeur who has found
the fountain of youth and has given the Devils relief. That stop of a Mike
Richards’ slap shot to the pads with mere seconds left in regulation was huge.
And it gives New Jersey a lot of confidence that they perhaps are the team of
destiny and not the Kings.
Glory days indeed. Celebrating with my cousins in Queens, New York. Although I am an Islanders fan, I watched a lot of hockey in the Tri-State area and played briefly in a rec league in NYC.
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