“It came off his pad pretty quick. I just tried to get a stick on it and get it on net. After that, I blacked out. I tossed my gear, the guys jumped in, and I couldn’t breathe for a while. It’s a surreal moment.”
If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to score the goal that wins the Stanley Cup, that’s Alec Martinez’s best description.
“I was just at the right place at the right time,” the Kings’ overtime hero said. "[Tyler Toffoli] made a great play shooting far pad, and I was able to put it in. It’s not about me or the goal. It’s about the L.A. Kings and the guys in that room. We did something special. We knew we were a good team; now we know we’re a great team.”
Martinez didn’t want to talk too much about himself. Instead, he talked about the team -- about the chemistry, the character, and the leadership of the group.
“We like each other. We love each other,” he said. “L.A.s the only thing I’ve ever known, being drafted here. But from what guys say that have played elsewhere, what we have here is pretty special, in terms of guys really liking each other, and that’s a testament to [general manager Dean Lombardi] putting together a group of guys like that.”