2014: A Year Of Infamy For The Los Angeles Kings

7 – The Rematch

When I think of a heavyweight showdown between 2 athletic beasts, I think of Muhammad Ali against George Foreman or against Joe Frazier.  I also think of Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson or even Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III (yes I just used a pro wrestling reference).  This was hockey’s equivalent to a heavyweight showdown.  The Hawks were the defending Stanley Cup Champions and the team that eliminated the Kings (in 5 games) the previous season, ending the King’s original Stanley Cup defense in the 2013 Western Conference Final.  This was their heavyweight rematch and many hockey insiders and experts now call this series one of the most thrilling, exciting and best played hockey playoff series that they had ever witnessed or at least have seen in a very long time.

If this series was a fictional story for a book or a film, it would’ve been award winning but also would’ve had its critics that would say that the events of the story could not be realistically possible in real life.  But like the entire 2014 playoff run of these Los Angeles Kings, this series was a reality that indeed did happen in real life.  In an epic playoff battle that had to be seen to be believed (and not recommended for the faintest of heart), these 2 teams went toe to toe in a super entertaining yet brutal slug fest. With no disrespect to the Eastern Conference winning (and waiting) New York Rangers, this was the true 2014 Stanley Cup Final.  After the Kings surprised everyone by going up 3-1 against the mighty Hawks, the champs came back and tied the series 3-3 in game 6 in Los Angeles.  At the post game press conference, a reporter asked coach Daryl Sutter what he had said to his players as motivation after another disappointing lost opportunity to close out the series and return to the Stanley Cup Final.  Sutter answered with a simple, “Fly at 11.” In other words, nothing had to be said as the Kings already knew what needed to be done.

In a breathtaking game 7, The Hawks gave the Kings everything they had by taking an early 2-0 lead in the game, but like Muhammad Ali against George Foreman in the legendary “Rumble in the Jungle” fight (or Rocky Balboa against Ivan Drago in Rocky IV), the Kings would NOT go down and die and came back to tie the game 2-2.  The Hawks regained the lead 3-2 seconds after that but the pesky Kings would still not go away and tied the game back up in the second period.  Chicago took yet another lead in the third period and in the past this would normally cripple any opponent but this Kings team was not like any other team. With the help of the determined hustle of Captain Dustin Brown, Marian Gaborik scored yet another important timely goal to tie things up and it sent this already dramatic game into the biggest dramatic stage of them all, a game 7 sudden death overtime.  This was the type of overtime that many kids from all over the world would play out on their streets or in their backyards as this was the stuff that dreams (and nightmares) were made out of.  And in complete dramatic fashion, Mr. Game 7 himself Justin Williams skated around the Chicago net and set up defenseman Alec Martinez for the victory knockout punch, squarely to the Hawk’s jaw and knocking them out for the count, right in front of Chicago’s passionate home crowd at the United Center! The silence and shock in the arena (except for the noise being made by the victorious Kings players and fans) was deafening.  As another record breaking historical side note, the Kings now became the first team in the NHL to ever play 3 straight game 7’s and win all 3 of them, ON THE ROAD! (WHHAAATTTTT???!!!) Sit back and enjoy this one but hold on, it’s a wild ride (and keep an eye out for Chicago goalkeeper Corey Crawford going down on one knee and bowing** to the majestic Kings after being bested in this epic duel).

**Okay, Crawford wasn’t actually bowing to the Kings, he was upset at losing the series but it’s a great visual nonetheless.