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Devils at Kings: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com

New Jersey Devils at Los Angeles Kings (-165, 4.5)

THE STORY: The New Jersey Devils have made the Stanley Cup finals a series. After falling behind 3-0, the Devils have won two straight and can even things with a victory in Game 6 Monday night in Los Angeles. New Jersey pulled out a 2-1 victory Saturday to hand the Kings their first road loss of the postseason, and their only back-to-back losses so far in the playoffs. Devils netminder Martin Brodeur has been the catalyst for the comeback, allowing just two goals in his last two games.

ABOUT THE DEVILS: New Jersey went from being a potential sweep victim to the first team since the 1945 Detroit Red Wings to force a sixth game in the finals after dropping the first three. The 40-year-old Brodeur was the difference in Game 5, stopping 25 shots to end the Kings' 10-game playoff road winning streak. ''That's how a goalie wins the game for you,'' said forward Zach Parise, who scored the game's opening goal for his first tally of the finals. Just as significant was New Jersey's ability to score with the man advantage. Parise's power-play goal was the Devils' first against the Kings after opening 0-for-15.

ABOUT THE KINGS: Dropping consecutive games for the first time in the postseason doesn't seem to have concerned Los Angeles all that much. "You're going to lose two games in a row," Kings defenseman Matt Greene said following Saturday's defeat. "That's why you work hard to win three. That's it. Right now, we've got the advantage going home. We've got to look at it like that and get our game going." Getting the offense going is paramount, with Los Angeles struggling through its first major power outage of the postseason. The Kings had 26 shots on goal in Game 5, but another 20 were blocked and 14 missed the net.

TRENDS:

*Under is 9-1-1 in the last 11 meetings.
*Under is 4-0 in the last four meetings in L.A.
*Devils are 9-1 in their last 10 games playing on one day's rest.
*Kings are 0-8 in their last eight games as a favorite of -151 to -200.

OVERTIME:

1. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only only team in history to force a seventh game after falling behind 3-0 in the Stanley Cup finals.

2. Brodeur's win Saturday was the 113th of his postseason career. Only retired great Patrick Roy (151) has more.

3. The Kings have only been modestly successful at home in the playoffs, going 5-3.