advantage and luxury that teams crave but have a tough time finding."There are not many No. 1 powerful centres in this league. There is only maybe one a team, if that," Williams said. "Kopy's skill level and his work ethic and his defensive-zone responsibilities are something that set him apart from a lot of the other players."Kopitar excels in his own end, too. He was ninth in the NHL with 76 takeaways."I've always had the mindset of going out to perform to the best or to the potential that I have," said Kopitar, the No. 11 pick in the 2005 NHL draft. "If people notice me or not, it doesn't really matter except for me knowing that I do lay out there every night and do my best."The two-way game he plays is certainly not lost on stellar goalie Jonathan Quick, who is likely the biggest obstacle in Kopitar's path to the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP should the Kings capture the Cup."It was a little disappointing for quite a while," Quick said of Kopitar's relative anonymity. "You see how well he's played for the past few years and it seems like he doesn't get as much praise as he definitely deserves. He is definitely one of the best players in the league, and I'm glad to see he's finally getting some press and attention."He's unbelievable."The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Kopitar was much less effusive in speaking about himself, which certainly fits into his obscurity. With higher-profile stars such as Richards and Brown on his team, it is easy for Kopitar to remain in the shadows and catch clubs off-guard �� especially an Eastern team such as the Devils, who faced the Kings only twice this season, and not since October."I think everybody knows about his skill,Milan Lucic Jersey," Los Angeles defenceman Rob Scuderi said. "One thing they don't maybe see is his size. He is a big guy. He doesn't get knocked off the puck easily, and he uses it to his advantage in the offensive and defensive zone."Now he is working to combine those talents to help the Kings win for the first time since they joined the NHL for the 1967-68 season. The only other time Los Angeles has reached the Stanley Cup finals was in 1993, a five-game loss to the Montreal Canadiens.Game 2 is Saturday night."We want to add something to our resume here," Williams said, "and Kopy is not going to stop until he's got that."
NEWARK, N.J. -- The Stanley Cup Playoffs are often deemed a grind -- eight weeks of intense,marian hossa youth jersey, desperate hockey.For the Los Angeles Kings,Mike Richards Jersey, a combination of standout performance and quirky scheduling has made the journey to Game 2 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final a little less arduous than what is typically expected.“It is just the way it goes. There’s not a lot we can do about it,” Kings forward Jeff Carter said. “I guess it gives us an extra day to rest up and heal up some bumps and bruises. It’s been great for me. Anytime you can get an extra day in between, it is going to help out a lot of guys. We’ve had a few breaks like this, and it has been big for us.”STANLEY CUP FINAL - KINGS VS. DEVILSWeight: Devils must be aggressorBy