Devils 2, Kings 1 (OT)
John Moore scored with 15.2 seconds left in overtime to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
Tyler Kennedy scored and Keith Kinkaid made 22 saves for New Jersey, which has won the first two games of its three-game California road trip. The Devils improved to 33-29-7.
New Jersey swept the season series from Los Angeles, which fell to 40-22-5. Jonathan Quick stopped 22 of 24 shots and Anze Kopitar scored the Kings' lone goal.
The Devils entered the game on the periphery of the Eastern Conference wild-card race. At the start of game action, New Jersey trailed Pittsburgh, who holds the second wild card by seven points. Philadelphia, Carolina and Ottawa are ahead of the Devils in the wild-card race.
Still, the Devils have spoken confidently all season long about being a playoff team, and against the Pacific Division-leading Kings, they started quick as Kennedy opened the scoring 1:12 in with his third of the season.
Kennedy drove to the net and jammed Devante Smith-Pelley's backhand shot through Quick for the game-opening goal. New Jersey had an opportunity later in the period to grow its lead, but Quick stoned Henrique on a shorthanded breakaway.
The period ended with New Jersey holding onto its slim lead, even though Los Angeles had three power plays in the period. New Jersey outshot the Kings, 8-4 in the period, although three of the Kings' four shots came on their three power plays.
New Jersey's trend for taking penalties continued in the second period, as Bobby Farnham was assessed a four-minute minor for high sticking Nick Shore.
But the Kings couldn't break through as the Devils blocked four shots on the extended power play. For the game, New Jersey finished with 29 shot blocks.
Still, shot blocking largely means a team isn't playing with the puck, and New Jersey was not. And it came back to bite them when Los Angeles drew even at 1-1 with 5:24 left in the second on Kopitar's backhander, to conclude a sequence in which the Kings controlled the puck in the attacking zone.
NOTES: New Jersey entered the game having won three of five matches against the Kings following the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, which Los Angeles won in six games. The last time the teams met, the Devils topped the Kings, 1-0, on Feb. 14 at Prudential Center. G Keith Kinkaid made 28 saves in that game to record his first NHL shutout. ... Los Angeles scratched D Jamie McBain and C Andy Andreoff. ... New Jersey G Cory Schneider missed his third straight game with a Grade 1 sprained MCL. ... Devils C Jacob Josefson missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury. ... New Jersey D Damon Severson sat out his second straight game due to what the team termed as "maintenance." ... D Jon Merrill and RW Jordin Tootoo were scratched.