At the beginning of the 2011-2012 NHL hockey season, no one would have thought it would be the Los Angeles Kings heading to the Stanley Cup Final.
Struggling for offense all season, the Kings were lucky to get into the playoffs. But after that something clicked for them, and they came alive. Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, and Mike Richards are the point leaders for the Kings this post season, and they have been tough to stop. Jonathan Quick was outstanding in net for the Kings all season and has not disappointed during the playoffs. Posting a save percentage of .946 and two shutouts during the Kings 14 playoff games, Quick is proving himself difficult to beat.
Coming off of a sweep of the St. Louis Blues in round two, the Kings had a lot of confidence and started the series against the Phoenix Coyotes just as strong, taking a three games to none lead. Unfortunately for the Kings, they were unable to complete the sweep as Phoenix captain Shane Doan led his team to victory in game four, keeping the series alive. Game five looked good for the Coyotes as well. They came out strong, scored early in the first, and looked to be in control of the game. But the Kings kept fighting. Kopitar evened it up for the Kings just under seven minutes later. In the second, the Coyotes regained the lead with a goal from Marc-Antoine Pouliot. But the Kings came back with two goals from Drew Doughty and Mike Richards. With less than four minutes left in the second period, Keith Yandle tied the score at 3. In the third period, both teams had chances but neither was able to capitalize, so they went to overtime. After playing for 17 minutes and 42 seconds, Dustin Penner scored his third goal of the playoffs, sending the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993 with Wayne Gretzky.
The Kings now have a week off before game one of the Stanley Cup Finals, which is set for Wednesday, May 30th. Surely they will be taking some much deserved rest time before getting back to work preparing for their next opponent, which will either be the New Jersey Devils or New York Rangers. Whoever advances from the East certainly has their work cut out for them. No one from the West was able to stop the Kings, will the East be able to do it?
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