In the Western Conference Finals, the surprising Los Angeles Kings, the lowest seed in the West, will take on the Phoenix Coyotes, a team that finally has shown some of the promise that many people felt about them.
Los Angeles started the season red hot, then seemed to cool off as it went along. They were eventually good enough, however, to qualify for the playoffs, but many people overlooked them, being such a low seed, and facing the defending Western Conference Champions, the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver had posted the best regular season record for the second season in a row, and clearly wanted another crack at the Cup, having come so close last year, only to fall short. It seemed that the Kings would be taken care of quickly.
Instead, Los Angeles surprised the Canucks by jumping all over them, taking the first two games in Vancouver, much to the shock and horror of the home fans their. When the Kings won Game 3, it seemed that the best Vancouver could hope for was to avoid the embarrassing sweep. That they did with a Game 4 victory, and with the series returning to Vancouver, perhaps a series could still be made of it. But Los Angeles took care of that, defeating Vancouver on the road to finish the shocking outcome, and move on the next round, where they met the second-seeded St. Louis Blues.
Now, I will admit to assuming that Vancouver was going to win that first round series, and also will admit that I expected the Blues to take care of them, figuring that they would not be able to sneak up on St. Louis like they apparently had Vancouver. So, what happened? The Kings won even more convincingly, taking the series quickly and thoroughly in a four game sweep, to qualify for the Western Conference Finals. When was the last time a team defeated the top two seeds in a Conference before? Actually, this was a first. It never happened before. That obviously speaks well of the Kings.
That is not to suggest that what the Phoenix Coyotes have accomplished is not impressive. In the first round, they thoroughly outplayed the Chicago Blackhawks, the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions, and a young team of still considerable promise and perennial Cup favorite. they then easily dispatched with the rising Nashville Predators, and will have home ice advantage against Los Angeles, which probably will not hurt. However, it also did not help either the Vancouver Canucks nor the St. Louis Blues, neither of whom actually managed to grab a home victory against the Kings, and combined for an 0-5 home record against surging Los Angeles.
This is only the second Western Conference Finals appearance by the Kings in franchise history - the first being their epic 1993 Stanley Cup run with "The Great One", Wayne Gretzky. Yet, that is one more than the Phoenix Coyotes have ever made in their franchise history. Since, obviously, no one remains on Los Angeles from that last run, that translates to this being a new experience for both teams, and so experience should not be the deciding factor. It seems that the team that is hottest should pull it off, and that is why I feel the Los Angles Kings will advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. They are playing some absolutely phenomenal hockey at the moment, and I had not taken them too seriously up to this point, figuring that their victory over the Vancouver Canucks had been some sort of a fluke. But following that up with a sweep against the number 2 seed St. Louis Blues taught me something, and it is hard to imagine them not winning this next round, and thus, becoming the first team to defeat all the top three seeds in a conference en route to the Stanley Cup Finals.
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