NHL Stanley Cup Finals Preview: L.A. Kings vs New Jersey Devils

The end of the NHL season is fast approaching, with only one more series left to determine who will hoist the most famous trophy in sports: the Stanley Cup.  Lord Stanley would probably be very surprised by the matchup in the finals this year.  Out of the Western Conference, the eighth seeded Los Angeles Kings.  Out of the Eastern Conference, the sixth seeded New Jersey Devils.  Neither team is playing like the seed that they earned in the regular season.  The Kings dominance in the postseason is almost unprecedented for a team that just barely made the playoffs.  The Devils, with a 40-year old goalie, a hall-of-fame goalie at that, are riding their way back to the finals in hopes of snagging their fourth Stanley Cup title.

The Kings’ run this postseason is nothing short of amazing.  Here’s how they’ve gotten to this point:

• 4-1 series win over the #1 seed Vancouver Canucks in the first round.
• 4-0 series win over the #2 seed. St. Louis Blues in the second round.
• 4-1 series win over the #3 seed Phoenix Coyotes in the third round.

We all know about their phenomenal goalie by now, Jonathan Quick.  Folks around the NHL heard about how good this kid was playing during the regular season, but he wasn’t getting the goal support he needed to pick up wins.  During the regular season, the Kings were in a tremendous offensive drought, but Quick kept them competetive by winning games and earning points that would have been impossible without his stellar play.  The Kings wouldn’t have made the playoffs, never mind the Stanley Cup Finals, without the netminding of Quick.

The Los Angeles Kings fired head coach Terry Murray in December and replaced him with Darryl Sutter.  The move has paid off.  The Kings made it to the postseason and are on a 12-2 tear as they march towards their ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup.  This will be only the second appearance ever for the Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals.  The last was in 1993 with head coach Barry Melrose.  Wasn’t Wayne Gretzky on that team?  Anyway, this Kings team is playing well in almost every facet of the game.  They are generating offense, scoring some shorthanded goals (five, which leads the NHL), and everyone is chipping in: older players, younger players, defensemen, centers, and wingers.  The powerplay unit hasn’t been good (six for seventy-four), but they can’t be good at everything.  Almost as importantly, they are finally getting Los Angeles excited about hockey.  The Lakers and Clippers are out of the NBA playoffs, so the Kings have the whole spotlight to themselves.    With L.A. being the second largest city and media market in the country, the NHL is hoping that the fans latch on to this team.

The New Jersey Devils have had an interesting postseason; they were pushed to the brink of elimination in double overtime in the first round.  Things have gotten easier since then.  Here’s how they’ve made it to the Stanley Cup Finals:

• 4-3 series win over the #3 seed Florida Panthers in the first round.
• 4-1 series win over the #5 seed Philadelphia Flyers in the second round.
• 4-2 series win over the #1 seed New York Rangers in the third round.

The New Jersey Devils are led by their phenomenal goalie Martin Brodeur.  Now 40, Brodeur played very well in the series against the New York Rangers.  He’s had moments where hestarted to show his age, including when he was pulled in one game against the Panthers in the first round.  His backup is Johan Hedberg.  The Devils have struggled at times to hold onto leads this postseason.  Multiple times against the Panthers, they failed to hold the leads they had in games.  Some they won, some they lost.  In the last series against the Rangers, they had a 3-0 lead in game five, only to see that lead vanish.  The Devils wound up winning 5-3 though.  In game six, they had a 2-0 lead, only to see the Rangers tie the game up and force overtime.  The Devils wound up winning that game 3-2 and moved on to the Stanley Cup Finals, so they are showing some resiliency and mental toughness.

The New Jersey Devils are looking for their fourth Stanley Cup title.  The New York Rangers won one in 1994.  The Devils, who consider New York their rivals, have won three since 1994.  They shouldn’t be the little brother in the New York metropolitan area anymore.  The NHL, whether they admit it or not, would have loved to have the Rangers (one of the original six and home to the country’s largest city and media market) in the finals, but they are hoping the Devils can carry some ratings from the New York area.

Zach Parise has played great this postseason.  He is a one of the better players in the game, and Devils fans better enjoy him while they can because he may very well be gone after the season.  Ilya Kovalchuk is starting to live up to the mega contract he signed a couple of seasons ago.  He is playing really well this postseason.  Then there is rookie Adam Henrique who has scored two game-winning overtime goals this postseason, including one in game six against the Rangers.  He is playing with so much poise, much more poise than you would expect a rookie to have.  The Devils have the pieces, but can they win the cup?

The Stanley Cup schedule is as follows:

Game 1 (in NJ) Wednesday (today) May 30 8:00 PM ET NBC

Game 2 (in NJ) Saturday June 2 8:00 PM ET NBC

Game 3 (in LA) Monday June 4 8:00 PM ET NBC Sports Network

Game 4 (in LA) Wednesday June 6 8:00 PM ET NBC Sports Network

**Game 5 (in NJ) Saturday June 9 8:00 PM ET NBC

**Game 6 (in LA) Monday June 11 8:00 PM ET NBC

**Game 7 (in NJ) Wednesday June 13 8:00 PM ET NBC

So it’s time to make the pick.  The last time the Devils were in the Stanley Cup was 2003.  They played another Pacific Division team and another team from the L.A. area, the Anaheim Ducks.  The Devils won the Stanley Cup.  Now not saying that that will in any way mean the Devils will win the Stanley Cup Finals this year, but it is worth mentioning.  The Kings are on a roll.  No team has played better than them this postseason.  The Devils have veterans who have experience playing in the NHL playoffs, led first and foremost by Brodeur.  The Kings have a few guys like Jarrett Stoll who was on the Edmonton team that made it to the finals in 2006 and Justin Williams who was on the Carolina team that beat Stoll’s Oilers in 2006, but nothing like the playoff experience the Devils have.  They will need their power play unit to step up big in this series.  But they are 8-0 this postseason on the road.  No opponent arena is going to scare them.  The Devils will make it a good series, but I think the Kings will win in six games and hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.  It will be an exciting series.  I will be tweeting live on the Sport DFW twitter account.  Be sure to watch a few games.  Hockey is very exciting, and the Stanley Cup Finals will live up to the expectations of championship caliber play.  Very soon, Lord Stanley’s Cup will have a new owner.  Will it be LA or will it be New Jersey?  We’re about to find out.

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