News » LOS ANGELES (AP) Keith Kinkaid has always performed well

LOS ANGELES (AP) Keith Kinkaid has always performed well against the Los Angeles Kings.Entering the crux of a six-game road trip crucial to the New Jersey’s playoff hopes Adidas Steven Kampfer Jersey , the Devils‘ goalie tormented the Kings once again.Kinkaid stopped 38 saves for his first shutout of the season, helping the Devils improve their playoff positioning with a 3-0 win over the Kings on Saturday.”He’s a big reason why we’ve been able to be competitive and continue to be competitive down the stretch,” Devils coach John Hynes said. ”We need him to continue to be very good. It’s nice to see Keith rise up. He’s playing extremely well right now, so let’s keep going with it.”Michael Grabner, Nico Hischier and Miles Wood each scored for the Devils, who have won three straight and four of five. New Jersey remained in the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Metropolitan Division rivals Philadelphia and Columbus, who both won later Saturday night.Jonathan Quick made 25 saves for the Kings, who are tied with Anaheim for third in the Pacific.Kinkaid is 3-0-0 in his career against the Kings with two shutouts. He has won four consecutive starts and is 9-2-0 in his last 11.”I guess I like playing against them,” Kinkaid said with a smile when asked about facing the Kings. ”They come out real hard and we just had to weather their storm. Fortunately, we got a few good goals there and a few good breaks. … I’ll take wins no matter how they come, whether it’s 8-3 Adidas Zach Bogosian Jersey , 7-5 or 3-0. Any win is good right now.”Kinkaid’s dominance of the Kings was especially evident in the first period when he made 19 saves, stopping nine shots during the Kings’ four power-plays, including 58 seconds of 5-on-3 play.”He’s played well against us, so we weren’t surprised he played because his record against us is very good,” Kings coach John Stevens said. ”I just thought we didn’t do enough to make his job more difficult. We were at the net, but not taking his eyes away enough.”The Kings’ inability to execute on the power play was costly, with Grabner’s short-handed goal at 8:29 of the first period giving the Devils a 1-0 lead when he intercepted Drew Doughty’s pass at the blue line to spring his breakaway.New Jersey’s 10 short-handed goals are tied with Florida, Nashville and Edmonton for most in the NHL.It was the first short-handed goal allowed at home by the Kings this season, which leaves Carolina as the only team in the NHL that has not conceded a short-handed goal at home.”That turned out to be the biggest play of the game,” Kings center Anze Kopitar said. ”When you get those power play opportunities there, you want to cash in on them and we failed to do so.”The Devils went up 2-0 on Hischier’s third goal in the last four games. The rookie center, who has five points in that span Joakim Nordstrom Jersey Womens , scored on a wrist shot from the high slot. Damon Severon had an assist for the third consecutive game, and Brian Gibbons got his third assist in two games.New Jersey had four shots in the first.”We were obviously a little bit opportunistic there. At this time of the year it doesn’t matter. We’ll take `em how we can get `em,” Devils defenseman Andy Greene said. ”Keith was huge back there, PK did a really good job and really gave us momentum a couple times. It’s just a huge, huge two points again on the road.”Wood made it 3-0 at 6:06 in the third. Brian Boyle had the assist to extend his point streak to three games.NOTES: Devils F Patrick Maroon did not play because of a lower-body injury. … New Jersey is 27-0-2 when leading after the second period. … Los Angeles went 0 for 6 with the man advantage, matching its most chances in a game without a power-play goal this season.UP NEXTDevils: Visit the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night.Kings: Open a four-game road trip at the Minnesota Wild on Monday night.— CHICAGO (AP) What was left of the United Center crowd was mostly quiet while the final seconds of an era ticked off Tuesday night. There was no big rally for the Chicago Blackhawks. No final charge.It’s over.The NHL playoffs will go on without Chicago for the first time in a decade after the Blackhawks were eliminated from contention with a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Injuries, aging stars and inexperience combined to sink Chicago after a wildly successful run that included three Stanley Cup titles.”It’s been a tough, tough stretch here,” coach Joel Quenneville said.Quenneville was coaching Colorado the last time Chicago missed the playoffs. The former NHL defenseman and the Avalanche decided to part ways after the team was swept by Detroit in the second round of the 2008 postseason, and he replaced Denis Savard after the Blackhawks fired the Hall of Famer four games into the following season.What followed was the most successful decade in franchise history. Led by a core group of stars that included Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith, Chicago won three Stanley Cups and reached the conference finals two more times while appearing in the playoffs for nine straight seasons.But it looks as if age and an annual dance with the salary cap might have finally caught up to the Blackhawks (30-35-9) Christopher Tanev Jersey , who are last in the Central Division with eight games left on their schedule.”We’ve had some terrific players and some really good teams, real good depth,” Quenneville said. ”We didn’t always have good starts to the season, but had a lot of options to work with as a staff. The building was rocking and we’re good at home, and we’re successful on the road, real consistent.”This has been the one year we’ve been unpredictable in our game, and our possession game has been the one area that we’ve nailed. This year, we didn’t get to that level we needed to get to.”An injury to two-time All-Star goaltender Corey Crawford also contributed to Chicago’s rapid decline. The 33-year-old Crawford hasn’t played since Dec. 23 due to an upper-body injury, and it has been a steep drop-off to backups Anton Forsberg, Jean-Francois Berube and Jeff Glass.The Blackhawks also have been without top forward Marian Hossa all season due to severe side effects from medication to treat a progressive skin disorder. It’s unclear if he will ever play again.”You’re always going to have key injuries,” Quenneville said. ”Always going to have significant injuries, have some things go against you. But we’ve always been able to overcome them and find ways rectify some tough situations and get back on track. This year we’ve been unable to do it.”Chicago still might have been able to make a playoff run if not for its other issues. Toews Authentic Daniel Sedin Jersey , Keith and key defenseman Brent Seabrook are showing signs of age after years of long playoff runs and international play. The Blackhawks’ young defensemen have experienced some growing pains, and Brandon Saad has struggled in his return to Chicago after an offseason trade with Columbus.But the Blackhawks just got a closer look at a possible roadmap for a return to contention.The Avalanche are in prime position to return to the playoffs after going 22-56-4 last season. Top goaltender Semyon Varlamov is healthy again after playing in just 24 games a year ago. Mikko Rantanen has developed into an offensive presence at age 21, and rookie Alexander Kerfoot scored twice against Chicago to get to 17 goals on the season.”There’s a great example in the team we played today, and in how far out you can be, and how quickly you can recapture that winning attitude and that feeling and get right back in the race,” Quenneville said after the Blackhawks’ sixth loss in seven games.”The playoff picture’s probably completely different than a lot of people anticipated. That’s how close teams are when they begin a year, and things can go right from goaltending to special teams to top players. There’s a number of ways where you can make a difference and new young players are certainly a part of that equation.”—Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap—