Newark, NJ – The Los Angeles Kings hold a 1-0 lead over the New Jersey Devils after the first period in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The start to the game was long on whistles and short on shots as the teams played cautiously.
Los Angeles created pressure with its aggressive forecheck behind the New Jersey net, resulting in the series' first goal. Jordan Nolan pushed defenseman Andy Greene off the puck and fed out front to Colin Fraser, who beat Martin Brodeur on a one-timer from the right circle at the 9:56 mark of the first period.
Moments after Devils forward David Clarkson missed the net on a scoring chance, Kings captain Dustin Brown bumped into Brodeur. Los Angeles negated the power play as Jonathan Quick made a big save on Travis Zajac's wrister.
Quick made another save off a draw to his right in the period's latter stages, getting his left pad on Bryce Salvador's point drive, one of the five shots he faced over the opening 20 minutes.
Los Angeles also recorded five shots.
The Kings are making their second appearance in the Cup Finals -- they lost in five games in 1993 to Montreal -- after knocking off the Western Conference's top three seeds: Vancouver, St. Louis and Phoenix.
New Jersey is in the NHL's championship round for the fifth time in club history and first since capturing its third title in 2003. The Devils rallied from a 3-2 series deficit in the opening round with two overtime wins against the Florida Panthers, and then eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers, the East's top seed.
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