The Devils have been able to outskate the Kings deep in the Los Angeles zone, and it seems to be getting to the Kings a bit. Take this Mike Richards elbowing penalty, for example, which put the Devils on the game’s first power play.
Special Teams Come Up Huge For Los Angeles Late In First Period

Then, less than a minute later, the jokes write themselves as Jeff Carter joined Richards in the penalty box for this high-stick on Adam Henrique. The officials did a solid job of quickly making sure Henrique wasn’t bleeding, which would have caused a four-minute double minor penalty.

Just after stepping out of the box, Richards got a step on Marek Zidlicky at the Kings blue line while on the penalty kill, negating the Carter penalty. The Devils won the first period, especially at five-on-five, but the special teams were huge in keeping Los Angeles in that period.
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