Los Angeles Kings Win Stanley Cup

This is banner headline material over at the Los Angles Times.

See, "Los Angeles beats N.J. Devils, 6-1, in Game 6," and "L.A.'s new royalty, Kings turn tumult into Stanley Cup triumph."

And at the New York Times, "Devils’ Hopes Disappear in a Flurry of Penalties":

LOS ANGELES — If the Stanley Cup playoffs test anything, they measure players’ ability to maintain discipline in the midst of fatigue, pressure and frustration.

By losing that discipline early, the Devils lost any chance they had to win their fourth Stanley Cup. Steve Bernier’s boarding penalty on the Los Angeles Kings’ Rob Scuderi in the first period proved to be the turning point in the Kings’ 6-1 victory in Game 6 on Monday night.

The Kings scored three power-play goals as the result of that penalty.

“I wish I could take that play back,” Bernier said.

The Devils’ captain, Zach Parise, refused to blame Bernier for the defeat.

“We feel for him,” Parise said. “In that situation, you’re going to feel like it’s your fault. But it’s not his fault.”

Moments before Bernier’s hit, Los Angeles center Jarret Stoll skated across the ice to check the Devils’ Stephen Gionta into the boards at the red line. Devils Coach Peter DeBoer yelled at the officials for failing to call a penalty.

As Scuderi chased after the puck behind the net, Bernier led with his left shoulder and left elbow in pinning Scuderi, who fell to the ice, bleeding from his nose and upper lip. Bernier received a game misconduct at 10 minutes 10 seconds of the first period, as well as a five-minute penalty that forced the Devils to play short-handed for the latter infraction’s duration.

“As the first guy, you need to finish your hit,” said Bernier, who added that he did not see Stoll’s hit on Gionta and did not believe he deserved a penalty.

Here's that hit:

And more from the New York Times, "Kings 6, Devils 1: Kings Capture the Cup With an Early Outburst."