Kings look to jump New Jersey on way to LA

NEWARK, NJ – What a far cry from the pre-season prognostications.   The New Jersey Devils host the Los Angeles Kings in a Stanley Cup Finals that will produce the lowest seeded winner of the Cup, ever.   So be it.  
 
The Kings have lost two games in this year’s tournament.   Once to the Vancouver Canucks and once to the Phoenix Coyotes.   In between they swept aside the St Louis Blues in the second round.
 
Who would have thought the 8^th-seeded Kings would so easily step past the Canucks?   Or brushed aside a game Blues team?
 
Kings forward Mike Richards was asked if he could pinpoint at what stage in the season did he think the team turned their fortunes.
 

“Not really.  I couldn’t pick out an exact time.  I think there came a point in the season where you’re starting to get used to teammates, start feeling more comfortable, but you’re still not yourself,” Richards explained.   “I think there was a point, I came back from injury, you start getting your legs under you, you start feeling better, you start just being yourself around the rink, feel comfortable with everybody on and off the ice, you have the confidence to go up to somebody and say something about what you want on the ice, and vice versa, people have the confidence to come up to you and say different things, too.
“I think there’s just a feeling-out process at the beginning of the year once you’re traded.  Probably mid February, a month after my concussion, you start feeling better on the ice and confident.”
 
For head coach Darryl Sutter the excitement of the playoffs is about the youth on his team.  
 
“Seeing young guys go through the playoff experience for the first time.  There’s so many players on our team that either hadn’t been in it or hadn’t been in the first round or else had never won a round.  That to me is the best part of it,” Sutter said. “Gives me shivers to see the guys enjoy it the way they do.  It’s like a family always.”
 
The Kings captain, Dustin Brown, was asked what impact the hiring of head coach Sutter had on the team.   For Brown, the impact was on the attention to details.
 
“Came in, keeping guys honest.  There’s games where I thought I didn’t play my best.  He brought attention to it pretty quickly,” Brown said.   “That goes a long way, whether you’re a young player or older player.  When you have a guy that’s pushing you to be better, not just you but everyone, it goes a long way.  Maybe helping you look at yourself in the mirror.”
For Brown the attention to detail and focus on the game plan is important, especially the Kings strong forecheck that dominated their first three opponents in the west.
 
“From a hockey standpoint, I think it’s important, again, our forecheck is probably the key to our game.  To follow that up is getting through the neutral zone successfully against them is probably a key.  If we can get through there, we can get on the forecheck,” Brown described.   “Again, our forecheck has probably been the reason we’ve been so successful.  We need to play like we have been the first three series.  Top to bottom, we’ve had contributions from everyone.”
 
For the Kings Drew Dought it is all about clicking at the right time in the playoffs.
 
“Everybody’s just clicking.  People are used to playing with their linemates now.  The lines have been the same from the last part of the season.  D pairings are the same.  It’s just getting used to them.  Everyone is playing with confidence.  Once you start clicking like that, pucks start going in the net for you. I think that’s the biggest change from the regular season.”
 
From Doughty’s point of view it is not any different for New Jersey in their run to the Finals from the regular season.
 
“We both kind of had subpar regular seasons.  I think both teams have kind of got on a roll.  Watching the New Jersey/Rangers series, I thought New Jersey just dominated them.  You could just tell that everyone was clicking on the team, they felt good as a team,” Doughty said.   “I think we kind of did the same thing.  Like I said, it’s going to be a tough match to beat these guys. “
For Anze Kopitar there are no illusions as to the Finals.
 
“It’s going to be a hard series.  It’s the Stanley Cup Final.  They’ve done something right to be in this position.  We’ve done something right to be in this position.  It’s going to be hard games from 1 through 4 through 7, whichever way it goes.  We’re going to be ready,” Kopitar explained.
 
The Kings need to be ready for the experienced Devils.   Their advantage is their youth and inexperience and the fact they shown critics wrong.   Coming up from the western conference’s eight seed position the Kings have dominated each of their rounds.   The Finals will not be nearly as easy for them. “There’s a lot.  They’re a very impressive team.  I would say you look at the teams they beat to get here, they didn’t have an easy road and they playedwell,” Kings goalie Jonathan Quick said of New Jersey.   “Their power play at times has been very potent.  Their top two lines have been very potent.  They scored some timely goals.  Solid defense.  Obviously Marty is one of the best goalies ever to play.   They’re a very strong team and they’ll be a big challenge for us.”
 
But in the end, Los Angeles will celebrate a champion on ice and not on a hardwood floor in six games.
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