Kings beat Devils in OT for 2-0 series lead

NEWARK, N.J. - The Los Angeles Kings, a team with numerous former Flyers on the ice and in management, took a stranglehold on the Stanley Cup Finals with a 2-1 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at the Prudential Center.

Former Flyer Jeff Carter scored the winner to give the Kings a two-games-to-none lead in the series, which resumes Monday.

Carter scored from the high slot, sending a shot to the short side and past Martin Brodeur after 13 minutes, 42 seconds of overtime.

"This was by far my biggest," said Carter, who, while with the Flyers, missed a golden scoring chance to win Game 6 of the 2010 Finals against Chicago. "It's my first overtime playoff goal. . . . It's a pretty special moment."

"It was good to see him score," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "There was a lot of traffic in front and I'm not even sure [Brodeur] saw it."

As the series shifts to Los Angeles for the next two games, the Kings, now a mind-boggling 10-0 (an NHL record) in road playoff games this spring, are two wins away from their first Stanley Cup since the franchise started in 1967-68.

For what it's worth, the winner of Game 2 has won the Stanley Cup in 54 of the 72 series (75 percent) since the best-of-seven format started in 1939.

Ryan Carter, New Jersey's fourth-line center, tied the game at 1-1 by deflecting Marek Zidlicky's point drive past Jonathan Quick with 17:01 left in regulation. It was Carter's fifth goal of the playoffs.

With 10:30 to go in the third period, Brodeur stopped the Kings' Anze Kopitar on a partial breakaway, and the Devils nearly won it while on a late power play, but Ilya Kovalchuk's shot caromed off the crossbar with 17 seconds left in regulation.

Welcome to overtime. Again.

Just 1:20 into OT, after a Kovalchuk turnover, Brodeur made a glove save on Mike Richards from the high slot. A few minutes later, Brodeur stopped Jordan Nolan from close range.

The desperate Devils, who scored 18 goals in their five-game series against the Flyers, put lots of pressure on Quick early in overtime.

In OT, L.A. outshot the hosts, 11-3.

Trailing 1-0, New Jersey was booed by its hometown fans as it failed to generate much offense during a power play late in the second period. That made the Devils 0 for 3 on the night and 0 for 5 in the series while playing with an extra skater.

During those five power plays, they had managed a total of just five shots.

The Devils went into the third period facing a 1-0 deficit. That seemed daunting because New Jersey had yet to score on its own in nearly six periods in the Finals. In the opener, the Devils' lone goal in a 2-1 overtime loss was scored by defenseman Anton Volchenkov after his shot caromed off the shoulder of Kings defenseman Slava Voynov.

During the Devils' boo-inspiring power play late in the second period, their best chance came when a Kings clearing attempt deflected back toward the net, and goalie Jonathan Quick was forced to kick it away.

Los Angeles struck first as defenseman Drew Doughty - who could give Quick a run for the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the best performer in the playoffs - scored after a rush down ice that included a nifty move around a defender, enabling him to get free for a right-circle wrist shot. He beat Brodeur with a drive to the far side, giving the Kings a 1-0 lead with 12:11 left in the first period.

New Jersey outshot the Kings, 10-6, in the opening period and squandered the session's only two power plays.

With 6:49 remaining in the first, former Flyer Richards nearly made it 2-0, but was turned aside from close range by Brodeur, who looked behind him as if the puck was in the net.

Brodeur kept the Devils within 1-0 as he made a glove save on Colin Fraser's right-circle blast with 7:23 to go in the second period.

In Stanley Cup Finals history, only five of 47 teams have won the title after losing the first two games. It has happened, however, in two of the last three years as Pittsburgh (2009) and Boston (2011) won the Cup after dropping the first two contests.