For the first 25 minutes of Game 3, the Devils may have outplayed the Kings. But all their efforts didn't produce a goal, and things quickly out out of hand. Los Angeles scored two in the second period and two more in the third for a 4-0 win and a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Devils will try to stave off elimination Wednesday.
Game 3 looked all too familiar for the Devils. The critical moment came when they wasted a five-on-three toward the end of the first period. A minute after Zach Parise drew an elbowing penalty, Adam Henrique was hit (and cut) with a high stick. That set the Devils up for a minute-long two-man advantage and the end of the double-minor penalty to follow. But the Devils couldn't score up two men, and then Marek Zidlicky took a tripping penalty to keep Mike Richards from a scoring chance. After that sequence, the Devils might have known it wasn't their night.
But the Devils had chances in the second before the Kings finally broke the ice. Once again, their offense let them down. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick proved up to the task, and Ilya Kovalchuk at whatever percent he is at may not be good enough. The Devils have two goals in three games (one off a Kings defenseman) and have never led in the series. Their power play was officially 0-for-6 (give the Kings elite penalty kill some credit for that). Teams need goals to win games.
Martin Brodeur wasn't happy with the first goal of the game, a rebound poked home by Alec Martinez after Brodeur thought he froze the puck. But after a dazzling second goal by Anze Kopitar that left Brodeur no chance, the Devils goalie had trouble corralling rebounds. NHL teams have come back from 3-0 deficits before, but the Devils have done little to suggest that is likely in this series.
