Sometimes you get the bounces, sometimes you don’t. Though they helped Los Angeles early in this series, Game 5 was definitely not the Kings‘ night. For the second game in a row, they prevailed in possession but did not convert.
Jonathan Quick hasn’t made many mistakes in the postseason, but when he did — on an attempt to clear the puck behind his net in the waning moments of a penalty kill — Zach Parise pounced, and the Devils capitalized. Though the first period had begun fairly well, the Kings wound up with nothing to show for it.
Justin Williams, who showed a tenacious attitude all night, tied the game early in the second period with a great wrist shot. It was good to see his effort rewarded, especially after he hit a post early in the 1st. However, the Devils soon regained the lead. Salvador’s shot from the point deflected off Voynov and into the net midway through the second. It was New Jersey’s ninth shot of the game.
Martin Brodeur was brilliant once again, and that’s all the Devils needed to hang on and force Game 6.
Shot attempts were in the Kings’ favor 60 to 38. Though they had the edge, I’d like to see more. 26 were on net, another 20 were blocked, and 14 missed (including some post-ringers).
What to take away from all this? Sutter’s message is probably the same as it is after every game: keep calm and stay focused on generating more grade-A chances. Your chances of winning go up when you take more shots and get more of them through. Jonathan Quick is no doubt eager for redemption, and this team showed a lot of resiliency just to make it into the 8th seed in the first place. We’ll see if they can harness that in their next chance to beat the Devils on Monday.
[Boxscore] [Head-to-head time on ice] [Shot differential (Fenwick/Corsi)] [Faceoffs]
Highlights and interviews after the jump.
Darryl Sutter had his usual lengthy press conference:
Justin Williams is determined to take the next one in our barn:
And so we look ahead to another fight.