*stats based on playoffs.
Match-up - Devils (12-9) @ Kings (15-2)
Road/Home records*- 6-5 -------------- 5-2
TV - NBCSN (HD), CBC (HD), RDS (HD)
Puck drop - 8:00 PM ET
Series score - Kings lead 3-0
Projected starting goalies - Martin Brodeur (NJ) vs. Jonathan Quick (LA)
Battle of the stats
Goals for/against per game *
Los Angeles - 2.88 / 1.41
New Jersey - 2.52 / 2.38
Powerplay/Penalty Kill percentage *
Los Angeles - 10.1% / 92.8%
New Jersey - 15.4% / 73.1%
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
Simon Gagne - Colin Fraser - 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 - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Adam Henrique - David Clarkson
Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier
Bryce Salvador- Marek Zidlicky
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenkov - Henrik Tallinder
Notes: Martin Brodeur will start...Cam Janssen, Eric Boulton, Tim Sestito, Adam Larsson, Peter Harrold and Jacob Josefson will sit as healthy scratches...Henrik Tallinder and Petr Sykora will draw back into the lineup.
Kings to watch out for:
Drew Doughty - He has played 22+ minutes and recorded at least one point in every game of the series thus far.
Alec Martinez - Martinez hasn't received much credit, but he's played very well in this series. He's plus-2 with two points (1G, 1A).
Jonathan Quick - He has been nothing short of spectacular throughout this series and the playoffs. If he can deliver one more stellar outing, the Kings will hoist the Cup at home tonight.
Devils to watch out for:
Zach Parise - It's a do or die game and Zach Parise the Captain. They're supposed to lead by example in big games, and the Devils need him to do nothing less than that tonight.
Petr Sykora - He's returning to the lineup tonight to help bring some more offense to the table. Let's see if he can deliver some.
Henrik Tallinder - This will be Tallinder's first game in months. If he doesn't play well and gets burned a couple of times, the Devils season could be down the drain.
Keys to the game
Los Angeles - Stay focused
The Kings can't afford to be thinking about the Stanley Cup in this game. They have to pretend it's just a regular hockey game that they need to win. If they lose focus and start thinking about the Cup, they probably won't win this game.
New Jersey - Get an early lead
The Devils have allowed the first goal in every game in this series. If they can convert on an early scoring chance and grab a lead it would be a huge boost for them.
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