The Stanley Cup Final matches two teams that haven’t met for 7 months. This will be the first-ever playoff series between The Los Angeles Kings and the New Jersey Devils. In the regular season, the New Jersey Devils defeated the Kings once in regulation and once in a shootout.
The Los Angeles Kings have geared up for a lengthy playoff series in every single round of the postseason, but they haven’t even had to play a Game 6.
New Jersey and Los Angeles met twice in the regular season, both games coming in October (13th and 25th). The Kings lost to the Devils, 2-1, in a shootout October 13 in Newark, having just returned to the United States after starting the regular season with two games in Europe. The Devils won, 3-0 at Staples Center, October 25.
One of many similarities between the Kings and the Devils is that their leading players have earned every last bit of their exorbitant paychecks. It is a challenging task with either club to point directly at a best player. Any which way your finger waggles, at minimum, 3 faces appear.
Leading the way on the ice and off it for both teams are American born Captains who, though they play very various styles, both lead by example and put work ethic at the forefront of every shift. Neither Dustin Brown nor Zach Parise will be caught coasting for a second of precious ice time. Hockey fans around the world will be mesmerized by two skaters who have never played for the sport’s greatest prize, but have played every game these playoffs as if the Cup awaits them at the final buzzer.
There is nobody hotter in the NHL than Jonathan Quick is in net for the Kings. Quick was a great goaltender during the regular season, but he’s taken his game to an additional level throughout the playoffs. During the 2011-12 season, Quick had a goals against average of 1,95, which has shrunk even smaller, to 1,54, during these playoffs. Both teams have elite goaltenders playing at elite levels right now.
Whoever won the 2012 Stanley Cup, the Devils or Kings, will be the lowest seed in the history of the NHL to do so. There’s no doubt that this matchup is between the two most popular teams in the sport. Kings have gone on a 12-2 rampage through the playoffs and earned a date with the Devils in the Stanley Cup finals, which begin Wednesday.
Tickets for the Devils Vs Kings are still available for the Staples Center as well as the Prudential Center.
