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Devils have gotten better as series progress

Willie Mitchell, Travis Zajac

NEWARK, NJ - JUNE 09: Willie Mitchell #33 of the Los Angeles Kings pressures Travis Zajac #19 of the New Jersey Devils during the second period of Game Five of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final at the Prudential Center on June 9, 2012 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Kings jumped to a 3-0 lead in all four of their 2012 playoff series. Things have gone far differently for the New Jersey Devils.

Their run to the Stanley Cup finals isn’t typically referred to as historic - although it certainly will be record-breaking if they manage to win it all - but that might be their biggest edge now. The Devils have gotten use to coming from behind in series and the fact that they’re still around speaks to their success in that department.

In fact, New Jersey has a 10-1 record in Games 4-7 of their series. They haven’t lost a contest in the latter half of a postseason series since Game 5 against Florida in the first round.

Still, Kings defenseman Drew Doughty isn’t convinced that the Devils have an advantage just because they’ve trialed in their previous series and are still here.

“I don’t think so,” Doughty said. “Even though we’ve closed out the past series quicker, we’re prepared to go the distance in the Stanley Cup Finals. This is the toughest team we’ve played throughout the playoffs. They’re a great team. They play really well and we knew it was going to be a tough challenge. Now it’s going to be up to us, individually, to get ourselves going and play as a team.”

The Kings are just 3-4 in Games 4-7 of their series, but no one on Los Angeles will care about that gap if the Kings manage to win on Monday.