Good win, but Kings have room for improvement
Heading into Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final on Saturday, the Kings will no doubt be watching plenty of game tape. It doesn't really matter which team they focus on.
As advertised, the Kings and New Jersey Devils played a similar type of game in Game 1 as the Kings edged the Devils 2-1 in overtime at Prudential Center. Expect Game 2 to be no different and expect some long games, deep into the night with overtime.
The Kings' challenge going into Game 2 will be to maintain the things they did correctly in Game 1 -- good play from goalie Jonathan Quick, good penalty-killing -- and improve in other key areas.
The Kings' forecheck, a strength of the team throughout this postseason, was strong, but the Kings didn't do as good a job of handling the Devils' forecheck, which is also highly heralded.
Too often in Game 1, the Kings made a careless first pass under pressure, which resulted in a turnover and a scoring chance for the Devils. While the Devils recorded only 17 shots on goal, they regularly used their forecheck to turn over pucks and put pressure on Quick.
"You've have to be careful going through the neutral zone, that you don't make any turnovers," center Anze Kopitar said, "because they got some speedy forwards, some forwards obviously that can finish. You have to create turnovers and just make sure you make strong plays."
