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El Segundo, Calif. • Somewhere in Marty McSorley's home in Hermosa Beach is a hockey stick with a blade that's curved at least a quarter-inch more than the legal limit.

The longtime NHL tough guy doesn't keep the most infamous stick in Los Angeles Kings history on display, saying it's not important enough. He's probably correct: The stick's proper place is near the billy goat, the Bambino, the cover of the Madden NFL video game and every other supposed curse-carrying item in sports history.

That stick, and McSorley's resulting penalty for using it, turned the 1993 Stanley Cup finals in favor of the Montreal Canadiens, who knocked off the Kings in Los Angeles' only previous trip to the finals before this season. The Kings will take their second shot at their first NHL title starting Wednesday at New Jersey.

McSorley has grown weary of talking about that Game 2 disappointment over the past 19 years, yet he also believes the full story of the Canadiens' skullduggery isn't known. He hopes the current Kings' run will help fans finally straighten out their bad feelings about the illegal curve, which gets far too much attention, he insists.

Los Angeles had won Game 1 in Montreal and was up 2-1 in Game 2 with 1:45 to play when Habs coach Jaques Demers called for a measurement. With McSorley serving his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Demers pulled goalie Patrick Roy, setting up Eric Desjardins' 6-on-4 tying goal. Desjardins scored again early in overtime, and the Canadiens roared through the following three games to claim the Cup.

McSorley readily acknowledges his stick violated the rules, yet he insists he didn't make it that way: That's how the sticks arrived from the factory, and other players used the same curve without ever getting penalized. In fact, McSorley says he used sticks with the same curve in the next two finals games with no penalty.

A regular at Staples Center, McSorley is enjoying the Kings' playoff run every bit as much as his 3-year-old son is.

"It's a great time for us as alumni to come back," McSorley said. "We do feel partly responsible, in a really good way. We believe that we've helped to grow the fan base and part of the history of this team. That's a great, great feeling. ... It validates to people outside L.A. how strong hockey is here. People are ravenous here for tickets right now." —

Schedule

Wednesday • Los Angeles at New Jersey, 6 p.m., Ch. 5

Saturday • Los Angeles at New Jersey, 6 p.m., Ch. 5

Monday, June 4 • New Jersey at Los Angeles, 6 p.m., NBCSN

Wednesday, June 6 • New Jersey at Los Angeles, 6 p.m., NBCSN

x-Saturday, June 9 • : Los Angeles at New Jersey, 6 p.m., Ch. 5

x-Monday, June 11 • New Jersey at Los Angeles, 6 p.m., Ch. 5

x-Wednesday, June 13 • Los Angeles at New Jersey, 6 p.m., Ch. 5

x-if necessary