The NHL Playoffs are nearing the end and the conference finals are all set as the Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins are the two series left and all four teams are the last Stanley Cup champions.
The conference finals games will begin on Saturday with both games, the West coming first at 5 pm before the East finals starts up at 8 pm. Both series are expected to be tough and since all four have won Cups recently it is expected to be close. The Kings won last year on the skills of Jonathan Quick and the team will be looking to repeat this year as the fifth seed after being the eighth seed last year.
The Kings survived Tuesday's do-or-die Game Seven by holding off the visiting San Jose Sharks in a 2-1 nail-biter that put Los Angeles back in the Western Conference finals for a second consecutive year. The Kings never faced an elimination game during last year's remarkable run, yet this year's squad seems to be enjoying their current march just as much even though they fell behind early in the opening round before being pushed to the limit by San Jose in the second round.
The Kings are taking a much more tension-filled route toward the Stanley Cup finals this year than the squad that came out of nowhere in 2012 to steamroll their way to a maiden championship. It was the kind of challenge the Kings never faced during their remarkable 2012 playoff run when they practically breezed to the Cup title as an eighth seed that grabbed a 3-0 lead in each best-of-seven series and went 16-4 in the postseason.
The 31-year-old Williams has dealt with several injuries over the years and was mired in an eight-game goal drought before coming through with the season on the line.
Then there is goaltender Jonathan Quick, last year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner as most valuable player of the playoffs, who is further spreading his reputation by thriving through more adversity in these playoffs.
The Kings fell behind 2-0 in their best-of-seven first-round series against St. Louis before their netminder kicked things into another gear.
Los Angeles has certainly been bearing down at their home Staples Center - another distinct difference between the 2012 run - where they have now won 14 consecutive games, including seven straight in the playoffs.
A year ago, the Kings were road warriors as they set an NHL record by winning their first 10 post-games away from home.
Nothing appears the same for the fifth-seeded Kings, except for their confidence level as they pursue a second straight championship banner.
"The way we're built, we've been together and have dealt with adversity," said winger Dustin Brown, whose Kings await the winner of Wednesday's Game Seven between Detroit and Chicago.
"Our backs were against the wall, it's us or them, and that's what hockey players like," veteran wing Justin Williams told reporters after scoring both goals in the Kings' victory, giving him nine points in four career Game Sevens.
"(You want) a chance to show up for your team when it's do or die. We have confidence, I guess knowing that we've been there before."
(Reuters Quotes)
