Stanley Cup Finals 2012: 3 Stars from Game 2 Between the Kings and Devils

Momentum in the Stanley Cup Finals is now overwhelmingly in the favor of the Los Angeles Kings, who took a 2-0 series lead tonight against the New Jersey Devils.

It was an utter battle, and both teams had ample opportunities to win the game late in regulation and in overtime. However, the Kings remain undefeated on the road thanks to an overtime bullet by ex-Philly boy Jeff Carter.

The Kings now return home, where they have lost the only two games of these Stanley Cup playoffs. If it's any consolation though, history now greatly favors the Kings.

Here are my three stars for the Kings from tonight's game.

3rd Star: Jeff Carter

Carter has had, by all accounts, a pretty quiet playoffs. However, he has come up with two very big games for the Kings, and one of them was tonight. 

The game-winner by Carter was an absolutely fantastic individual effort. Carter created the play with a great effort, and ended the play with a laser beam of a shot.

The Kings brought Carter in to help score goals, and no goal may end up being bigger than the one he scored tonight.

There is a big difference between going home up 2-0 and being tied 1-1.

2nd Star: Drew Doughty

Doughty showed us why he is earning the big bucks. He had a fantastic coast-to-coast goal, and was the messenger on several sizable hits.

It was a game that the Kings needed from the 22-year-old. He was efficient with his outlets, physical, and assertive in the offensive zone. Honestly, you could say this might have been Doughty's best game of the playoffs thus far.

Doughty also logged a game-high 27:44 in ice time, valuable minutes from the Kings most valuable defenseman.

1st Star: Jonathan Quick

Jonathan Quick faced 33 shots tonight and turned away 32.

Quick was on his game from the drop of the puck and made a number of timely saves to keep his team in the game. New Jersey piled on the pressure for long periods of time, but he was up to the task.

New Jersey was swarming in the third period after tying up the game, and if not for Quick's late-game heroics it's likely we'd be looking at an evened-up series.

He was calm and collected, and it seemed to carry over to his teammates. 

When it comes down to simple analysis, Quick was better than Marty Brodeur, and Marty Brodeur is a future Hall of Famer and one of the best goalies to ever play the game.