Okay, so my prediction for the Finals proved to be more from the heart than the head. The Los Angeles Kings completed one of the all time great runs in NHL history, and perhaps even in North American sports hstory, by defeating the Devils on Monday night, 6-1, to complete their championship run. It is the first time that the Kings got to lift the Stanley Cup in their 45 year history.
They did it impressively, too. This was a physical team. Just watch a part of any of the games, and you could easily tell that the Los Angeles Kings roster was filled with big guys - bigger than the Devils, physically, to be sure. That takes a toll physically on the opposing team, and it sure did in these playoffs. Not just for the Devils, but for the teams that fell to the Kings before that, too, from Vancouver to St. Louis to Phoenix. All fell.
Also, they were hungry, obviously. Throughout the playoffs, they were clearly the most determined team on the ice. I was talking to a guy - a fan of the Rangers who had initially been disappointed with his team's loss to New Jersey, but felt glad in the end that his team did not have to face the red hot Kings - and he said that you could just see their demeanor change in Game 6, a kind of look and attitude that reflected physically, suggesting that they were done fooling around, and that it was time to go for the throat. That they did, and Game 6 was over early. If this game had been a heavyweight title fight, it would have been stopped in the early rounds, frankly. It was an ugly end to a series that had seemingly just been really getting interesting.
When the Devils fell behind 0-3 in this series, on the surface, it looked like a lopsided series, with almost everything in favor of the Kings. Up already 2-0 in the series, Los Angeles took the Devils apart in Game 3, en route to a blowout 4-0 win. At that point, the Kings had outscored New Jersey 8-2 overall, and had won all three games. One more win in Game 4, and the Kings would have ended a historically dominant postseason in unique style, and who could ask for more?
But that perception was a bit deceptive. In fact, the Devils had been competitive in the first two games, even if Game 3 was a blowout and a bad showing for them, and under particularly bad timing, to boot. But New Jersey had played decently and lost a hard fought Game 1 in overtime. In Game 2, the New Jersey Devils actually outplayed the Kings in every way but the most important one: the scoreboard. The game went into overtime again, but once again, the Kings scored to clinch the victory and the 2-0 series lead.
Then, of course, came the debacle in Game 3, and the Devils looked flustered, frustrated, and overwhelmed by a superior Los Angeles Kings squad.
But the Devils put something together, and had an impressive series of victories in Game 4 and Game 5, to make a bit of a run. They prevented the sweep in Game 4, scoring first, then scoring in the waning minutes to break a 1-1 tie. An empty net goal at the end gave the Devils a bit of a cushion on the scoreboard, securing a 3-1 win.
Then, perhaps the most impressive game of the series for the Devils came in front of their home fans. Entering that game, the Kings were on an unbelievable, historical, and endefeated road streak in these playoffs, having compiled a 10-0 mark through four series. mind you, this was in the playoffs, supposedly the toughest test and play that ou can get. Yet, Los Angeles had made it look easy throughout these playoffs, and particularly on the road, which again, is normally the most difficult circumstances for a team to win under. But the Kings had made it look all too easy on the road, and many had already crowned this the greatest playoff run in NHL history, or at least among them. That will still hold, for it was an incredible run, but the Devils, by winning Game 5, managed to do two things that nobody else in the playoffs had managed to do: beat the Kings in their home arena, and hand the Kings consecutive defeats in these playoffs. Also, in the process, they suddenly looked capable of possibly winning the series, and they certainly had managed to make the series far more interesting. not bad, considering the 0-3 hole they had been in just days before.
Still, of course, falling behind 0-3 is not usually a good sign. Very few team have ever come back from an 0-3 hole in a seven game series to win, and you can count the number of teams that managed to do that in all sports in North America on one hand, and that with a history going back many decades, even the great part of a century. It truly would have been an epic feat, but these Kings wre not about to allow that. They are just too good.
So, the Kings crushed the Devils in Game 6, applying pressure early on, and giving themselves such a comfortable cushion, that New Jersey would have been hard pressed to even make a game out of it. Indeed, they never really did, for that matter. From the point that Bernier hit Scuderi from behind, thus drawing a five minute major penalty that saw the Kings burn New Jersey for two quick goals, it seemed the game was destined to belong to Los Angeles, and in a big way. Bernier regretted it, and explained that it is a fast game, and sometimes, vicious looking hits like these happen without bad intent. Be that as it may, it proved costly for the Devils, and for Bernier, who was ejected from the game.
Los Angeles took full advantage, and took a big lead, then never looked back. In less than four minutes of play, Los Angeles scored three times to take a big lead, and they dictated the tempo of the game the rest of the away, en route to a landslide 6-1 victory, although it should be noted, even as an aside, that the last two goals were empty netters in the final minutes, artificially inflating the score to make it look a lot worse than it really was.
The Devils skated off the ice runners up, and the Los Angeles Kings got to celebrate in fron of their home crowd, with long suffering Kings fans finally able to rejoice after their beloeved team managed to secure their first championship. That, in a city where they had been in the shadow on many levels. The toast of the town are the Lakers, who have won many championships and are the most famous of all sports teams from Los Angeles. But the Dodgers and Angels have given the city championships before, as have the Rams in football (prior to the Super Bowl era, though). The Raiders did win a Super Bowl for the city, crushing the Redskins 38-9, shortly after moving to the city of angels, although they moved back to Oakland about a decade later. The Los Angeles Clippers, it could be argued, were more in the shadows than the Kings, but they made some moves in the offseason prior o this season that made headlines and raised eyebrows, as well as expectations. Their success seems promising.
But hockey? In sunny southern California? Hell, even the local Anaheim franchise had enjoyed more success, getting to the Cup Finals in '03, where they lost to this same New Jersey Devils franchise that the Kings just defeated, in a tough, seven game series. That was as the Anahiem Mighty Ducks. The team would change their name in an attempt to rid themselves of the Disney image by the time they made it back to the Cup Finals in '07, and that time, they defeated the Ottawa Senators with relative ease, winning in five games. Thus, they, and not the Kings, were the first LA area team to hoist the Stanley Cup, evne though the Kings are the older, and more established, local hockey team.
So, the Kings really were due for a Cup victory, and they earned it. They had been to the Finals only once before, when Wayve Gretzsky wore a Kings uniform back in 1993 (the last time a Canadian team won it). They won Game 1 in Montreal, before the Canadiens took their 24th championship in franchise history by sweeping the Kings the rest of the way. Many fans were worried that that was a once in a lifetime thing, and that they might never see their team back here. Boy, were they ever wrong! Not only did the Kings make it back, and in a year where they barely qualifed for the playoffs as the 8th seed, but they won it in spectacular, and dominant, fashion.
Yes, the Kings now seem to have a very bright future, with possible future championship runs a distinct possibility. Of course, they will have plenty of competition. The Blackhawks were the last Western Conference team to win the Cup, bakc in 2010, and they also seemed ready to win several championships. They remain very talented, as do the Vancouver Canucks, who came tantalizingly close to winning the Cup last year, with two games that provided opportunities for them to finally hoist the Cup for the first time in their franchise history, only to see Boston outplay them and win the championship in Vancouver, just before the riots in that city. The Canucks still seem to offer Canada their best hope of ending the soon to be 20 year Cup drought, but they have to play better in the playoffs than they did this season. Both the Phoenix Coyotes and the St. Louis Blues, teams that the Kings swept aside in these playoffs, seem to be on the rise and should figure prominently in the West for the next few seasons, as well. Also, who can discount the Red Wings, perennial contenders?
As for the Devils, there are question marks. Will Parise return? How much longer will aging Martin Brodeur, the star goalie and perhaps the best of all time, be able to perform at optimum level? there are more questions, but the impressive run to the Finals, and their relatively impressive showing once there, seems promising. The team that they beat to get there, the New York Rangers, are young and appear to be headed for a bright future, as well, and the experience of this year's playoff run should help them. I also like what the Washington Capitals, once a flashy offensive scoring machine and powerhouse, have done. they have matured and can play a tougher, grind it out, physical brand of hokey. They were close to defeating the Rangers in ther hard fought, seven game series. Last year's champions, the Boston Bruins, could bounce back and return to championship form, as could the Pittsburgh Penguins, although they both need to stay healthy. Also, you can never discount the Philadelphia Flyers, right?
So, these stories provide an interesting backdrop as the NHL offseason begins. What makes it even more intriguing is that quite often, the playoffs prove to be unpredictable, with teams that seem completely in the background rising up to championship form. It happened in 2010, when the Philadelphia Flyers rose up from the seventh seed (although it should be noted that they should have been better than to be such a low seed in the first place) to have an amazing run, making it to the Finals before bowing to Chicago. Last year, the Boston Bruins ended their franchise's decades long championship drought with a surprising run culminating in their hoisting the Stanley Cup. This year, both the Los Angelese Kings and the New Jersey Devils made surprising runs, and both were relative surprise representatives for their Conference in this year's Stanley Cup Finals. That should mean that, despite the top stories focusing on the favorites, it could be some surprising team, or evne teams, that we are talking about and are all the rage, when the Stanley Cup Finals come around next season. It should be interesting, and almost always is!
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