Once again, the Los Angeles Kings have managed to defeat the New Jersey Devils in overtime by a 2-1 scoreline.
When the Devils lost Game 1, their situation was bad -- now, it’s dire. Only two teams have ever won the Stanley Cup finals after conceding Games 1 and 2 at home: The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs (who overcame a 0-3 series deficit) and the 1966 Montreal Canadiens.
Here are a few more facts to chew on:
-- The Kings are now 10-0 on the road in these playoffs. No team has ever won 10 straight road games in a single playoff run. On top of that, they are tied for the record for total playoff road victories in a single postseason.
-- The Kings have taken a 2-0 series lead in all four of their series.
-- The last time the Stanley Cup finals kicked off with back-to-back overtime games was in 1951. Back then, there were just six NHL teams, Gordie Howe was the scoring leader, and the Toronto Maple Leafs hoisted Lord Stanley’s Mug.
-- All five of Jeff Carter’s postseason goals have come in Game 2 of series. We’ll see if he can break that trend later in the Stanley Cup finals.
-- There have been nine power plays in the Stanley Cup finals, but no goals. Both teams have been incredibly ineffective with the man advantage.
-- 49 postseason games have been decided by just one goal, which is two shy of the NHL record.
-- On top of that, the road team has won 46 times in the playoffs, which ties the NHL record.
-- Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux and Danny Briere (eight) are still the playoff goal leaders.