15 Larry O’Brien Trophies, six Commissioners
Trophies, and one Lombardi Trophy have all made their way to the city of angels.
Now the Los Angles Kings can put their star of L.A. ’s
sports walk of fame.
This
night was a night of firsts for a sports town used to winning. The franchise
that gave hockey the Triple Crown Line held sport’s heaviest trophy for the
first time. The first number eight seed in NHL history won a title. The newly coroneted
Kings put together one of the most dominant postseasons in recent memory.
The new champs of L.A. found comfort in hostility. An appropriate word for L.A. ’s ten road wins in eleven games would be historic; mostly because ten road wins in a row is a new NHL record. In the playoffs, the Kings put up 35 road goals compared to 20 at the Staples Center .
Even with the King's success away from home, their surprising dominance in the playoffs could inspire the next great sports movie.
Even with the King's success away from home, their surprising dominance in the playoffs could inspire the next great sports movie.
The Stanley Cup Finals provided a picturesque ending for the NHL's new royalty. The Kings faced the Devils of New Jersey and the demons of their past. Still, when the Devils went down to L.A., the Kings throttled their final foes; just like they beat their previous opponents.
Offensively, the
Kings playoff numbers dwarf their inept regular season counterparts. The same mundane
offense that ranked 29th in the league for the first 82 games put up in just 19 games.
Defensively, the
Kings carried their strong penalty killing into June. A Kings team that killed
87% of their penalties purged 93% of enemy powerplays in the playoffs.
The NHL’s newest
champions won this title as a team. Sometimes, Anze Kopitar gave them a key
goal like he did in game one of the Finals. Other times, Jonathan Quick dug in
and gave his team a shutout; like he did against the Devils in game three.
These kings were groomed, raised,
and sent into battle by a man who owns a farm in Alberta .
Coach Darryl Sutter came in midseason and guided a group of fledglings to the
highest summit in hockey.
Maybe
with the Cup in Hollywood , we will
hear some captivating stories about the Cup and the Kardashians. One thing is for certain, the 2012 L.A. Kings
will become lore in the city of angels.
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