Remember yesterday when I said that the Kings needed to play like a hockey Borg to win the Stanley Cup…
Well, folks. They did just that.
New Jersey Devils resistance was utterly futile.
Shiny.
Last night, the Kings went into full-on beast mode and beat the New Jersey Devils 6-1 to clinch the first Stanley Cup in the franchise’s 45 year history.
This team, and their entire playoff run was epic – one of firsts, impressive records, and feats of altheticism and skill that make us super jealous.
The Kings barely made the playoffs and are the first ever eight-seed to win the Cup. They did so with an impressive 16-4 record and a unimaginable 10-1 road record.
They rolled over the #1, #2, and #3 seeds in the Western Conference in dominating fashion and matched the second-fastest run to a Stanley Cup Championship in modern NHL history.
It was no surprise that Jonathan Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Pretty sure his goals-against-average was like -4 and he had a save percentage of eleventy billion. (It was actually 1.41 GAA and .946 save percentage – both NHL records)
Quick also became the 3rd American-born player to win the Conn Smythe. Fellow goalie Tim Thomas won last year (like we could forget) and waaaay back in 1994 (when Quick was 8 years old), Brian Leetch from the NY Rangers won it.
Another little tidbit of trivia info – Leetch and Quick both went to school at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut and played in Hockey East (Leetch at Boston College, Quick at UMass Amherst). Oh and Thomas went to University of Vermont – also a Hockey East school. HOCKEY EAST REPRESENT!
Daddy, you won! Can I have some M&Ms?
The game itself had a intensity befitting a potential Stanley Cup cliniching game and there can be no doubt that its defining moment came in the first period when the Devils’ Steve Bernier boarded Rob Scuderi.
Scuderi was left bloodied and bruised.
Bernier felt shame and was ejected, resulting in a five-minute power play for the Kings.
During that five minutes, the captain Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, and Trevor Lewis each scored goals. The Kings never looked back.
Brown also added two assists and became just the 2nd American-born captain to raise the Cup. He managed to accomplish that which the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, could not do in his eight year tenure with the Kings.
Anze Kopitar has poised himself on the edge of NHL super stardom. He tied for the playoff lead in points (20) and goals (8), and finished a ridiculous +16. Not only is he the first Slovenian to play in the NHL, but now he’ll be the first ever to have his name engraved on the Cup.
He also is the first ever to wear this in a post-game interview.
All hail King Kopitar!
This team was chockful of talent and size and skill and they peaked at the most perfect time. Their regular season was inconsistent at best as they struggled to score goals, but something special happened after Darryl Sutter took over the team midseason.
So special in fact, that it earned them the most coveted and respected trophy in all of sports.
We are very much looking forward to the Kings’ summer with the Cup and all the photos, tweets, and stories that will undoubtedly follow.
We want to see Dustin Penner eat some pancakes out of the Cup.
We want to Carter and Richards take the Cup on a sunset stroll on the beach.
But most of all, we want to see the players, and their family, friends, and fans, savor every moment of this incredible accomplishment.
CONGRATS to the 2012 Stanley Cup Champion, Los Angeles Kings!
Devils fan here. That was a hard one to swallow. Those first three goals was like three stabs to the heart. This game and the score does not do justice to the Devils and their incredible season this year. I said from the beginning of this series, that if LA won, I would be happy for them. Why not? They defied the odds by beating the top 3 seeds and winning their first cup. But how it happened, my congratulations is on hold for now. If that call on Stoll for hitting Gionta would’ve been called, no doubt about it that the game would be different. LA may still have won. Before that call on Bernier, the Kings were dominating. But those 3 goals just somehow zapped all the hope and faith the Devils had. So many thing I want to say but I am just done.
I just want to say how proud I am of my Devils. From missing the playoffs for the first time in like 15 years last year to making and forcing a Game 6 in the SCF, when everyone counted them out from the beginning of the season, from eliminating both the Flyers and the Rangers, right there, that is our cup. I cannot even imagine what they must be feeling. My pain and sadness is only a fraction compared to theirs. I just hope they realize soon what an incredible season they had. They have a bright future with Adam Henrique, Ilya Kovalchuk, and hopefully, Zach Parise.
I agree with all you say Tiffany. Last two teams standing, only one can win, no shame there. I hope there will be changes moving foward in how seeding is done, for the playoffs. There was talk of just seeding by points and setup the matchups that way, instead of awarding the top three spots to “division winners”. Id like to see it go back to one ref instead of two and do a better job of officiating. Its obvious that 4 eyes are no better than two and that extra body on the ice is nothing more than someone being in the way.
The Devils were a great opponent. They worked hard to get those two games back and Brodeur and company played exceptionally well.
It is never easy when your team comes so close but I can only imagine how it fuels the fires of Parise, Henrique, and the others to want to make it to the Finals again. Once you have a taste, you’re hungry for more.
Hard to say what would have happened if the penalty call had gone the other way or if it hadn’t happened at all. The Kings had a dominate playoff run so it is hard to say that the outcome wouldn’t have been exactly the same. So much of what determines the outcome after a penalty like that is how the teams react.
All that being said, you have EVERY RIGHT to be very proud of your team. 🙂
Thank you Chuck and devlnri!!! I am slowly putting myself together and just seeing all of these positive comments for both teams is just warming. This is what hockey is about, respecting one another when the game is over. Here is my congrats to the Kings. As I said before this series started, if they won, I would be happy for you for your first cup in franchise history. That is a big accomplishment and I do wish all teams have the luxury to lift the cup at least once.
For Devils fans on here, check out TMZ. Though I do not like the article and title itself (I’m not over the loss that fast, I am human!), this video somewhat broke my heart yet mended it. Adam wasted no time in shaving and Andy looks like he as the drunken eyes. Stupid papz for bothering our guys! I wish I was in LA to hug, comfort, and console Adam.
http://www.tmz.com/2012/06/12/nj-devils-party-hollywood-stanley-cup/#comments-fullwrapper
As a Devils fan, I give the Kings props and congratulate them on their win.
To the Devils fans out there, I know how you feel. When the Flames went down to the Lightning in Game 7 in 2004 (along with Darryl Sutter), it felt like a kick in the chest. AWFUL. It still burns.
But have to say I’m so proud of the Kings. As a Hawks and Pens fan I found this team easy to love, from their physical play to pesty nature (lookin’ at you, Captain Brown) to the team sexy (Richards/Carter).
I’m most happy for Darryl Sutter – when he got all emotional on the ice I found myself choking up and seeing the players both hug him and cheer when he hoisted the Cup? A moment not to be forgotten.
Bottom line – hockey just rocks. There’s no other championship or trophy like it. Nearly 250 days after the regular season started, the winners finally crowned. What a run.
Also, I would like to buy my own crown, Kopitar. Where can this be found?
Thank you for being happiest for Coach Chicken Lady!!! It’s probably way too obvious, but he had the most to do with what happened yesterday. He turned the team around and turned the frown upside down, slowly and deliberately, in his own awesomely weirdo way. Yay Darryl. He had a rough patch of his own that he was dealing with. Must be nice to go back to the farm with a Cuppy-Cup.
As has been beautifully stated on here already, it’s always heartwarming to see the Cup lifted – just lifted and celebrated. Everybody’s exhaling and wobbly like limp noodles from the exhaustion and the exhilaration and finally knowing the f**king thing’s been won and there’s NO MORE GAMES to worry about. It’s a beautiful thing. Personally, there’s something even more special about seeing a team that’s never won finally be able to claim it as theirs. I was a bit pissy with the crowd because THEY WEREN’T NEARLY EXCITED ENOUGH!!! :O But hopefully, on Thursday they’ll make up for it by not looking in their mirrors and just letting it all hang out. I know that I will be 1000%, unadulteratedly, NSFW DOWN WITH THE CROWN people!!!
Down With The Crown. 🙂
PS – The Devils had an unbelievable, heartwarming run and have every reason to feel like winners. Perhaps the biggest win of all – particularly for fans – is when you convince your owners/mayor to bury the hatchet for the time being and give your team another chance to stay put. This series was all about parity, and how every team has a chance to win and deserves to believe that it can win. Now NBC needs to figure out how to pencil in games on the weekends that feature teams BESIDES the Rangers, the Penguins, the Flyers, the Bruins, the CapiTOOLS, the Leafs, the Habs, the Blackhawks and the Red Wings. And HNIC has some soul-searching to do, as well.
I agree, NBC does need to figure this out, because most of us are tired of seeing the same old teams getting all the love and coverage.
Those teams are great and deserve their time in the spotlight to be loved/loathed, but I refuse to accept that time zones and “non-traditional hockey markets” kill ratings. Refuse to accept it! It’s 2012. Seriously. Because of the cap, every team has stars and storylines that Doc Emerick can make sound a lot more interesting. And I straight up pity fans in Canada who only get to see the same handful of teams week after week because they’re Canadian-based teams. When I was little, it worked out because there were only a handful of teams – period. But now, everybody’s playing. There’s gotta be room for everybody!
Yes but it cant be the Rangers/Flyers/Penguins/Red Wings, every week on TV. They need to do their homework and find the best matchups to showcase…a game of the week, maybe.
I am genuinely surprised that you do not already own a crown.
Well said Chuck. It was such a great run for the Kings. It proves that any time with drive, desire and peaking at the right time means everything.
At first I was concerned about the Kings. Heard all the gossip regarding Richards and Carter, Doughty was sitting out and people got hurt eating pancakes yet this group of guys put it together and got the cup. Kudos to Coach Sutter. There’s always been something about the Sutter brothers that I liked.
Being a Canucks fan, I didn’t particularly want the Kings to win but, I got over that quickly. Soo happy to see Willie Mitchell raise the cup right after Brown, amazing. Plus, it’s impossible to watch the players hugging and yelling and not feel happy for them, we get the chance to watch someone’s dreams come true right in front of us! They work their whole lives to get to that moment, so it’s special. Now…what to do for 3 months? Congrats LA on your first cup! I can only hope some other teams might get there’s someday too….
I’ll tell you what we are going to do for 3 months. We (mean me, Pants, and all our readers) are going to troll the interwebs and the twitter for awesome Stanley Cup celebration photos/videos, hockey player summer vacation photos, and workout photos.
Oh and we might post about some other hockey related stuff like contracts, free agent signings, etc.
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