Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

New Jersey went 2-0 against L.A. this season and it doesn’t mean anything

Anze Kopitar, Patrik Elias

Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar, center, and New Jersey Devils center Patrik Elias, right, vie for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

AP

This season, the Devils are 2-0-0 against the Kings and while that might look like a solid small sample size, looking closer at their previous games tells us that history means nothing between these two.

Their first game came October 13, the third game of the year for both teams. For the Kings, it was their first game in North America after starting the season in Europe. The Devils won 2-1 in a shootout but Martin Brodeur played just one period after hurting his shoulder. Scoring for L.A. in that game? Simon Gagne. We won’t be seeing him in the finals despite him being symptom free from a concussion this season.

They would meet again two weeks later in Los Angeles with the Devils winning 3-0 thanks to a Johan Hedberg shutout. Dainius Zubrus scored twice with Patrik Elias netting the other goal on... Kings backup goalie Jonathan Bernier. Terry Murray was coach of the Kings at the time and he did so well he was fired midway through the season.

To sum it up: Two Devils wins that saw one come in the skills competition, both teams starting goalies combining to play 85 minutes (Brodeur 20, Quick 65), and one team that’s no longer playing like inconsistent, non-scoring crap. Let’s just go into these finals knowing that we know nothing at all about how they’ll match up on the ice.