The Los Angeles Kings could be just one win away from their FIRST ever NHL Stanley Cup win.
The Kings lost 1-2 to the Devils last night, making the New Jersey Devils the third team in the history of the NHL to change their luck from being 0-3 in a seven game finals to winning two games, ensuring game 6.
The Kings have proven that they will do everything they can to end the series once and for all tomorrow night with the home-court Staples Center advantage once again playing in their favor!
Regardless of who wins the Stanley Cup this year, NHL History will be made:
•The Los Angeles Kings are looking for their first Stanley Cup in the team’s 45-year history.
•The Devils, should they win the next two games, would become the first team in 70 years to win a Stanley Cup after being down 3-0 in the series.
The Kings would also become the first team since the Detroit Red Wings pulled it off in 1997 to win the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals on the road and then win the title.
Since the 2000 playoffs, there have been 135 series played (not counting the 2012 Stanley Cup finals), according to CBS Sports. In 29 of those series, the road team won the first two games of the playoff series. In 23 of those 29 series, that road team went on to win the series and advance to the next round.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what playoff round had the most series where the road team won the first two games of the series (since 2000):
Conference Quarterfinals: 15 (those road teams won the series 10 of the 15 times)
Conference Semifinals: nine (those road teams won eight of the nine series)
Conference Finals: five (those road teams won the series each time)
The Kings are also the first road team to win the first two games of the series in each of four rounds of a playoff. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim won the first two games of the first three rounds of the 2003 playoffs as the road team. In the finals, however, they lost Games 1 & 2 to the New Jersey Devils.
In 1949, the Toronto Maple Leafs won Games 1 and 2 as the road team in the semifinals and the Stanley Cup Finals. Whereas the Maple Leafs accomplished this feat in two rounds of the playoffs, the Kings accomplished it this year in four rounds of the playoffs.
The Kings are the 12th team to win Games 1 and 2 of the finals as the road team in a seven-game series. Of the previous 11 teams to accomplish this, nine went on to win the title. Will the Kings follow suit?
Here’s a look at the road teams that won Game 1 and 2 of a seven-game Stanley Cup finals:
Year, Road team wins games 1 and 2 (series outcome)
2012 L.A. Kings (?)
1997 Detroit Redwings (won Cup over Philadelphia Flyers)
1995 N.J. Devils (won Cup over Detroit)
1990 Edmonton Oilers (won Cup over Boston)
1983 N.Y. Islanders (won Cup over Edmonton)
1970 Boston (won Cup over St. Louis Blues)
1968 Montreal Canadiens (won Cup over St. Louis)
1966 Detroit (lost Cup to Montreal)
1952 Detroit (won Cup over Montreal)
1949 Toronto (won Cup over Detroit)
1945 Toronto (won Cup over Detroit)
1942 Detroit (lost Cup to Toronto)
