A little less than two years after battling for the services of high-scoring free agent forward Ilya Kovalchuk, the New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings are going after a bigger prize -- the Stanley Cup.

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To tell the truth, hardly anyone picked the Devils and Kings to get this far. The odds were lottery like.

Led by Kovalchuk and a 40-year-old Martin Brodeur, the Devils are just the second No. 6 seed to reach the final. The 2004 Calgary Flames were the other.

Riding the goaltending of Jonathan Quick, the Kings overcame even bigger odds. They are only the second No. 8 seed to make it since the conference-based playoff format was introduced in 1993-94. The Edmonton Oilers were the first in 2006.

Game 1 is Wednesday night in Newark.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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