NEWARK, N.J. -- Anze Kopitar has scored 20 goals in each of his six NHL seasons, so he knew what to do tonight when he found himself with a breakaway against Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. He faked Brodeur to the ice and lifted a shot past the fallen goaltender.
The result was a 2-1 overtime victory over the Devils in Game One of the Stanley Cup finals. The eighth-seeded Kings assumed command for the fourth straight series with the win. They have won nine straight road games in the postseason and earned the split they wanted when they arrived in Newark.
"It feels great," Kopitar said afterward. "Any time you get a chance to finish off a game in overtime, especially against a world-class goalie like Marty, it feels good."
Kopitar busted loose after drifting toward center ice and accepting a blind pass from Justin Williams that landed right on his tape. Colin Fraser also scored for the Kings. Anton Volchenkov was given credit for the Devils goal after his shot bounced off Slava Voynov and landed behind Jonathan Quick.
If you didn’t have a rooting interest, the game Wednesday could have been mistaken for a Wednesday night game in November. OK, so there were a few big hits and scoring chances, but little would have told you they were playing for the Cup other than the clutching and grabbing allowed by the officials.
"There wasn’t much going on offensively for either team," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "It’s tight quarters out there. I think both teams would say that."
Game Two is set for 8 p.m. Saturday in the Prudential Center.
--- Bucky Gleason
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