KINGS OF L.A.: Anze Kopitar slips the game-winning shot past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur in the Kings’ 2-1 overtime victory in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals in Newark last night. (Getty Images)
The Devils say they did their worst, and that wasn’t a good thing, yet it was nearly enough. New Jersey, which dropped its third straight series opener, only can hope the third time isn’t the curse.
For all the Devils’ belief that any improvement might be enough, they also know they squandered a magnificent opportunity last night, the chance to end the Kings’ record perfect road playoff, and puncture the Los Angeles balloon.
Those opportunities ended for the Devils when Anze Kopitar punished Marek Zidlicky’s ill-advised pinch with a breakaway goal, the 2-1 winner at 8:13 of overtime in the Stanley Cup finals opener last night in Newark.
“We didn’t deserve to win tonight and we didn’t,” Patrik Elias said. “They had a pretty easy night against us. We didn’t make it tough on them.
“It would have been great to steal this one, but we have to be a lot better than this.”
The Devils won all three finals when they took the opener and lost the only one (2001) when they lost Game 1.
Having squandered their first opening home-ice advantage of these playoffs on their first chance, the Devils will have to win Saturday in Newark, or head to Los Angeles in danger of being swept for the first time in team history — in the finals, no less.
“All losses this time of year are hard to take because your dream is shutting down,” Martin Brodeur said.
The Devils went long stretches last night without putting a shot on Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who looked as if he could be had with any sort of offense.
“It’s a tough loss,” said Anton Volchenkov, credited with the Devils’ lone goal when his rebound caromed in off King defenseman Slava Vodynov. “For some guys, it’s their first NHL final. Everybody was nervous.”
Kopitar extended the Kings’ record of winning their first nine road games in these playoffs. They are one victory short of the NHL record of 10 road triumphs in a playoff year, shared by the 1995 Devils.
“They feel good about it,” Brodeur said. “That would be a tough loss for them because they hadn’t lost on the road yet.
“We have to get in their mind.”
They didn’t do it last night, as the Kings snapped the Devils’ three-game playoff winning streak.
In the early going, the Kings were faster to pucks, quicker with crisp breakouts and played defense as if they liked it. They denied the Devils time and lanes for their passing, reducing New Jersey’s game to desperate chop-and-hope.
The Devils had enjoyed four days off since ousting the Rangers for the Prince of Wales Trophy, while the Kings were off eight days since they captured the Campbell Bowl as Western champs.
New Jersey didn’t put a shot on Quick for the opening 7:04, and still had only Dainius Zubrus’ softie from the left boards when Colin Fraser gave Los Angeles the lead at 9:56. Jordan Nolan stole the puck from Andy Greene at the right boards and centered to the right circle, where Fraser rammed his first of these playoffs past Brodeur, playing his 200th playoff game.
Brodeur kicked away a Dustin Brown breakaway in the first, and Brown knocked Brodeur over, giving New Jersey a power play. The Devils worked a tic-tac-toe play to perfection, except for Travis Zajac’s slot finish. David Clarkson also had a golden chance in the middle, but missed the net.
The Devils squared the score on Volchenkov’s goal with 1:12 left in the second, after being nearly invisible in that period. They didn’t put a shot on Quick for the first 14:30, and that only Zach Parise’s lost deke that was counted by a very generous home scorer. Los Angeles misplayed two quick 2-on-1s late in the second, after Brodeur made a knob save on Trevor Lewis’ shorthanded bid.
“We’ve been through that. We were shut down [and shut out twice] by [Henrik] Lundqvist,” Brodeur recalled. “When you play the Western Conference, you don’t know much about them. This was feeling-out for both clubs.
“This is a resilient team. Our work ethic puts us through a bunch of times. The ice was bad, we panicked with the puck a lot and made turnovers.”
mark.everson@nypost.com