*stats based on playoffs.
Match-up - Kings (12-2) @ Devils (12-6)
Road/Home records*- 8-0 -------------- 6-2
TV - NBCSN (HD), CBC (HD), RDS (HD)
Puck drop - 8:00 PM ET
Series score - 0-0
Projected starting goalies - Jonathan Quick (LA) vs. Martin Brodeur (NJ)
Battle of the stats
Goals for/against per game *
Los Angeles - 2.93 / 1.57
New Jersey - 2.83 / 2.33
Powerplay/Penalty Kill percentage *
Los Angeles - 8.1% / 91.2%
New Jersey - 18.2% / 74.2%
Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Kings:
Dustin Brown - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams
Dustin Penner - Mike Richards - Jeff Carter
Dwight King - Jarret Stoll - Trever Lewis
Kyle Clifford - Brad Richardson - Jordan Nolan
Rob Scuderi - Drew Doughty
Willie Mitchell - Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez - Matt Greene
Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Devils:
Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Patrik Elias - Jacob Josefson - David Clarkson
Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier
Bryce Salvador- Marek Zidlicky
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenkov - Peter Harrold
Notes: Martin Brodeur will start...Cam Janssen, Eric Boulton, Tim Sestito, Adam Larsson, Henrik Tallinder and Petr Sykora are expected to sit as healthy scratches.
Kings to watch out for:
Dustin Brown - If the Kings win the Stanley Cup, he's among the top candidates to win Conn Smythe. He'll need to show the Devils why and lead by example.
Slava Voynov - Though his numbers haven't been great (three points in 14 games) throughout the playoffs, he has. That will need to continue tonight, especially with him going up against Kovalchuk or Parise all night.
Jonathan Quick - This is his first start ever in the Stanley Cup Final. Will he be as good as he was in previous rounds or will the jitters get to him?
Devils to watch out for:
Adam Henrique - He finished off the Conference Finals with a three game point streak which includes his series clinching goal in Game 6 of the series. Will he be able to stay hot against Quick and the Los Angeles Kings?
Patrik Elias - With just six points (4G, 2A) in 18 post-season games, Elias' offensive production is not where it usually is. Despite that, the Devils have still won games consistently. I think that will change if he doesn't pick it up.
Ryan Carter - He's coming into the Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final with a two-goal game streak. He's plus-3 in those two games.
Keys to the game
Los Angeles - Stay disciplined
The Kings are on the road and the Devils will come out with a ton of energy. They can't afford to take stupid penalties and give the Devils big weapons a chance to put the Kings behind the eight ball early.
New Jersey - Control emotions
It's Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and the Devils have home ice advantage for the first time all playoffs. They will want to feed off the crowd, but they need to make sure they don't get over-hyped and force bad plays or take a bad penalty. They need to control themselves and stick to what has got them this far.
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