Stanley Cup Final Game 1
Los Angeles Kings
vs.
New Jersey Devils
Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
8:00 PM EST
The 2012 Stanley Cup Final gets started on Wednesday night with Game 1 between two teams who few predicted would be playing this late into May.
The Los Angeles King were the last team to clinch a spot in Western Conference playoffs, but proved that anything can happen in hockey's thrilling second season. L.A. mauled the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks in five games in the first round and then swept the second-seeded St. Louis Blues. Led by talented netminder Jonathan Quick, the Kings handled No. 3 Phoenix in five games while breaking a franchise record going a perfect 8-0 on the road.
Meanwhile, 40-year-old goaltender Martin Brodeur and veteran Ilya Kovalchuk helped the Devils earn the No. 6 seed in the East. New Jersey needed seven games to beat No. 3 Florida in the East quarterfinals, but manhandled Philadelphia in the second round by winning four straight after losing Game 1. The Devils then came back from a 2-1 deficit in the Eastern Conference finals against their Hudson River rival New York Rangers and won the series in six games, becoming the second No. 6 seed ever to reach the finals.
The Kings have looked unstoppable but will they have enough firepower to take down the Devils in Game 1? Or will Brodeur continue to dominate giving New Jersey a 1-0 series lead?
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