It might have been overshadowed by the Shea Weber-P.K. Subban deal, but its possible that the New Jersey Devils offseason acquisition of former No. 1 overall draft pick Taylor Hall from the?Edmonton Oilers?for emerging young defenseman Adam Larsson will end up being the most impactful offseason move in the league.The Devils, who are finally beginning to look like a Ray Shero team, hung around the edge of the playoff picture last season far longer than most had expected them to. But with?Michael Cammalleri?hurt, New Jersey lacked that go-to offensive guy, as it finished dead last in goals per game. In Hall the Devils have one of the top left wingers in the game. And, at age 24, he should be the centerpiece of New Jerseys offense for years to come. It cost him, but Shero has accelerated the process of rebuilding the barren cupboard he inherited when he became the Devils general manager in May 2015.We had to take a bit of a step back to be a better team, Shero said in a recent interview. We needed more talented players, younger players.Among the positive elements for New Jersey is ownership thats committed to winning and to spending to win, a sudden plethora of draft picks, and cap space. So stay tuned if the Devils are close come the trade deadline.Best new facesUm, did we mention Taylor Hall? Four times in his young career, Hall has topped 20 goals -- and now thats hes playing in a more structured offense, likely with his former Windsor Spitfires junior teammate?Adam Henrique, look for Hall to be north of 30, and maybe closer to 40, goals if he stays healthy.Shero didnt want to give up on Larsson, whose absence leaves a sizeable hole on the blue line, especially when you factor in the departure of the underappreciated David Schlemko. But look for a rejuvenated Ben Lovejoy, fresh off a steady turn for the Stanley Cup champion?Pittsburgh Penguins?last season, to help stabilize the blue line. Veteran Kyle Quincey was signed during training camp, adding to the teams blue-line depth.Beau Bennett, whom Shero drafted in Pittsburgh, may be looking at his last chance to revive his injury-marred career up front, while Vernon Fiddler, an important glue guy, could add veteran leadership on a team that shed a bevy of aging players, including?Tuomo Ruutu, Stephen Gionta and Jordin Tootoo, and presumably Patrik Elias, the Devils all-time leading scorer who is?still recovering from offseason surgery on his right knee and remains unsigned.Biggest unknownsLets start with Cammalleri, who is reportedly at full strength after a wrist injury kept him out of action from the All-Star break on. His absence was a killer for a Devils team that was not particularly deep up front. When hes healthy, Cammalleri is one of the most creative, productive players in the game. But the 34-year-old has struggled to stay healthy in recent years. If hes in the lineup, the Devils offensive depth goes up exponentially.How will Hall fit in? He wasnt happy about being traded, and if you assume hes motivated to prove Edmonton wrong, this should be good news for New Jersey. Shero has been candid in saying he wished he didnt have to trade Larsson, who was finally emerging as a top-four defender. Now the Devils have to hope they can fill that gap by committee as the teams identity continues to coalesce.Sure thingsCory Schneider didnt get much of a shot for Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey -- he played one period in the tournament -- but hes an elite netminder, and if the Devils are going to jump into the top eight in the Eastern Conference, Schneider will have to shoulder a mighty load. Schneiders U.S. teammate Kyle Palmieri had a breakout season for the Devils in 2015-16, scoring 30 times and adding 27 assists. He could get a look on the top line with Hall, but either way his work ethic and determination are as important to the team as is his goal production.OK, almost as important. The Devils were eighth in goals allowed per game and on the penalty kill and surprisingly ninth in power-play efficiency last season, a testament to the game plan implemented by first-year head coach John Hynes. Hynes comfort level with this team should increase his second year.PredictionThe Devils are close, maybe closer than people give them credit for being, and if they can stay healthy, theyre going to be in the hunt for a postseason berth next April. Sixth in the Metropolitan Division. Weston McKennie Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Keegan Rosenberry Jersey . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/601j-marcelo-balboa-jersey-usa.html . 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LOS ANGELES -- Dustin Penner could have simply dumped the puck and allowed the clock to run out on the second period of yet another dead-even game. Instead, he ripped a long slap shot at the net, and it ramped off a St. Louis stick and flew past Brian Elliott right before the buzzer sounded. "You might as well try," Penner said with a shrug. "You never know if you dont throw it on net." Thats the type of positive thinking that made the Los Angeles Kings into champions, and thats why they finally got rid of the Blues after a bruising first round of their title defence. Penner scored the tiebreaking goal in the final second of the second period, and the Kings advanced with their fourth straight victory over the Blues, 2-1 in Game 6 on Friday night. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves and Drew Doughty scored his first goal of the post-season for the reigning Stanley Cup winners, who won four straight to finish off fourth-seeded St. Louis. The Blues seemed poised to head into the final minutes with ample momentum after Chris Stewarts tying goal early in a period dominated by St. Louis. Instead, Penner heeded his teammates instructions to shoot from just inside the blue line -- and his rocket of a shot glanced off St. Louis defenceman Roman Polaks stick blade and beat Elliott for his second goal of the playoffs. "I was trying to look at the clock, to see if it counted," Kings centre Mike Richards said. "It all happened pretty quick. Thats a great feeling." The clock ran out while Penners slap shot rattled around in Elliotts net, but video replay confirmed the puck entered the net in plenty of time. The goal -- officially with 0.2 seconds left -- entered Kings lore alongside Penners winning overtime score to end last seasons Western Conference finals in Phoenix. "When the game means a lot more, its definitely a lot more fun to play," said Penner, who spent part of the season in coach Darryl Sutters doghouse as a healthy scratch. "These types of games bring out the best in this team." Indeed, the Kings held up well under enormous pressure from the hungry Blues: Every game in this bitter, physical series was decided by one goal, and Quick allowed just 10 goals in the six-game series. The Blues won the first two at home, but the Kings responded with four straight gritty victories, winning a playoff series after trailing 0-2 for just the second time in franchise history. Elliott stopped 14 shots for the Blues, who were eliminated by Los Angeles for the second straight season, this time despite taking a 2-0 series lead. St. Louis physically beat up the Kings, who responded with hard-nosed play of their own, but Quick outplayed Elliott by a minor margin. "What Im going to tell them is its not good enough," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "If you want to be a champion, its not good enough. You cant allow the goalie to outwork you. If you want to be a champion, youre going to have to find a way. ... We took everything to the beach, but we didnt finish putting it in the watter.dddddddddddd" Los Angeles has won 10 straight games at Staples Center since March, and its sellout crowd waved white towels and roared as the Kings became the first Stanley Cup champion in three years to advance to the second round. The defending champs wont know who theyll face next until Anaheim and Detroit finish their series Sunday night. If the second-seeded Ducks win, Southern Californias two NHL teams will meet in the playoffs for the first time. The Blues seriously tested the Kings, whose title defence already has been tougher than last seasons championship run in one respect. That eighth-seeded club roared to a 3-0 series lead in all four matchups and beat the Western Conferences top three seeds during a 16-4 rampage through the post-season. The difference yet again was Quick, who showed off his Conn Smythe Trophy form while stopping every shot in the third period. He stopped 167 of 177 shots in the series (.944 save percentage). "We hit a few posts, and left a couple sitting right there in the crease," Blues captain David Backes said. "Its beginning to be a broken record. We didnt get the job done. We were up 2-0, and to lose four straight, its pretty sour right now." The Kings went ahead with 7 1/2 minutes left in the first period of Game 6 when Colin Fraser made a drop pass to Doughty. He froze Polak with a faked slap shot before firing a nasty wrist shot past Elliott. Doughty, another playoff standout last year, hadnt scored a goal in the series despite logging more than 29 1/2 minutes per game. Doughty plays nearly seven more minutes per game than any other Los Angeles player. St. Louis responded with appropriate desperation, pressing the Kings and barely missing a goal when Chris Stewart ripped a shot off Quicks post late in the first period. The Blues equalized early in the third when Polaks long slap shot deflected off Porters body and sneaked inside Quicks far post. Porter, who turns 29 later this month, made his NHL playoff debut in Game 1. The Kings played solid defence in the third until midway through the period, when Patrik Berglund jumped on a turnover and skated in alone for two chances. Quick stopped the first, and the second sailed above the crease. St. Louis wasnt whistled for a penalty in Game 6 until 9:32 remained. The Blues pressed the attack in the final minutes, but Quick had little serious trouble. "There wasnt much ebb and flow to the series," Sutter said. "It was so close. It was always one goal. It was always a shift-to-shift competition the whole way." NOTES: NHL champions Chicago and Boston both lost in the first round of their title defences over the previous two seasons. The NHL hasnt had a repeat champion since 1998. ... Los Angeles beat Detroit in a first-round series after trailing 0-2 in 2001. The Kings and Blues have split their four playoff matchups in the franchises history. ... The Kings recalled RW Anthony Stewart from Manchester of the AHL, adding him to 10 prospects recalled Thursday. He is Chris Stewarts older brother. ' ' '