Los Angeles, CA – The first two periods in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals have passed without a goal as the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils are battling at Staples Center.
A carry-over power play at the start of the stanza for the Kings bore no fruit as they managed just one shot. Ilya Kovalchuk was denied at the other end when he wasn't able to get much lift on a shot from the left side and Jonathan Quick made a right pad save about two minutes in.
A Slava Voynov shot from the right point was redirected on net about five minutes in that saw Martin Brodeur make a save and Quick again used the pad a minute later to stop a sharp angle shot from the right side by Zach Parise.
Bryce Salvador was called for interference at the 8:19 mark when he hit Jeff Carter and the Kings went on their third man advantage, but the Devils penalty killers did an excellent job to keep the game scoreless.
With under five minutes to play, Simon Gagne skated into the Devils' zone down the left wing and had a clear shot on net, but Brodeur made a nice left-pad save on the wrister from inside the circle.
Los Angeles has come up empty on three power plays after 40 minutes, while the Devils, who didn't have an advantage in the second period, are scoreless on two opportunities.
Quick made three saves in the second period and 11 total, while Brodeur stopped seven shots in the second period and has 14 in the game.
Los Angeles had the first power play of the game when Parise was called for a trip of Justin Williams 3:02 in. The best chance of the advantage came in the second half when a drop pass was left at the left point for Alec Martinez on a rush. He got a big blast on net, but Brodeur made the stop then gloved the rebound out of the air.
Jarret Stoll was then called for a hook of Travis Zajac at the 5:53 mark, but New Jersey didn't manage a shot during the advantage.
However, Dustin Brown was penalized seconds after the Stoll penalty expired as he tripped Alexei Ponikarovsky. Quick had to be sharp on this one as he made a nice glove save on a Petr Sykora wrist shot from the slot.
With just over three minutes left, Jersey caught a break when a Williams tip of a right point shot caromed off the near post and stayed out.
An interference call to Salvador with 45 seconds left in the period gave the Kings another power play and the post was the Devils' friend again as an Anze Kopitar shot ricocheted off the pipe.
The Kings are hoping to wrap up the series for the first Cup victory in the franchise's history, while the Devils are hoping to keep the series alive and send it back to Newark for Game 5.
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