Throwback Thursday; Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Run

It was never a question that the Kings were going to make the playoffs last season. The question was where in the lineup they would land – would they compete against the San Jose Sharks or the Anaheim Ducks? Considering their history that regular season (the Kings lost four of the five games against the Ducks, including being shutout in the first outdoor game at Dodger Stadium) I was hoping for the outcome we got – Sharks in the first round and most likely the Ducks in round two. That wish seemed like a terrible idea three games in, when the Kings had dropped them all. Honestly I didn’t even watch the first game. I had planned on watching when I got home but I saw the score was 3-6 in favor of the Sharks and quickly changed my mind. Game two wasn’t much better. In fact it was worse – 2-7 Sharks. Game three looked more promising. The Kings weren’t winning, but they weren’t losing either. 3-3 going into OT the Kings looked much more like their usual selves, until a Patrick Marleau goal 6:20 into OT and suddenly we were on the brink of elimination. Round one. Against the Sharks?! Nope. Not okay. So thought the fans, and so did the players. I don’t know what was said in the locker room (but oh to be a fly on that wall!) but it worked.

Game four gave Kings fans much-needed hope that their season wasn’t over. They opened the scoring early with a three on two coming down the ice; Captain Dustin Brown carried the puck on the outside and Marian Gaborik buried the rebound past Antti Niemi less than five minutes in. The Sharks answered with 7.3 seconds left in the first; a goal James Sheppard batted out of the air past a Jonathan Quick rebound. Brown drew a penalty off Thomas Hertl which lead to the Kings next goal; a power play goal from Justin Williams, whose blast from the slot threw Niemi off guard. Again the Sharks answered relatively quickly; Matt Nieto batted a puck in practically over Quick’s head on a rebound that saw Quick out of a position where he could play the puck effectively. Again the Kings pulled into the lead, but this time they kept it. Williams with his second of the evening making a stunning play from almost behind the net. Jarret Stoll wins the draw, feeds the puck to Williams to hits it up the ice to Willie Mitchell who shoots wide, but the shot puts Niemi up and out of his net; Williams pick it up from Niemi’s right and bats it in behind the Sharks goaltender straight into the net. Tyler Toffoli , who had battled hard behind the net to get the puck out to Jeff Carter then Alec Martinez buries Martinez’s rebound with a simple wrist shot. Happy birthday Toffoli, you get your first goal of the playoffs. Goal five came early in the third from Gaborik; he pulls and drags to get Niemi off-balance, Niemi leaning heavily to his left so Gaborik shoots into the far right corner of the net. And that was it for Niemi in this game. Alec Stalock gets his first shot in net for 19:25. With 8:50 left Williams scores his hat-trick but a cross check penalty by Stoll before the puck entered the net negated the goal. The Sharks scored on the resulting power play, but it wasn’t enough. The Kings scored an empty net goal to seal the game 6-3.

Because it’s the Cup

Game five at the SAP Center (I try not to mock the name but it’s the Sharks and it’s just so hard not to) saw Jonathan Quick with the shutout. Toffoli opened the scoring 8:09 with a shot only a player with quick hands and a stunningly accurate shot could have made, wristing it around several defensemen and goalie Niemi. (Kudos to Pearson for his burst of speed to out-chase two Sharks players to the puck and pass it back to Toffoli.) The second goal came from Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown with the assist. Brown shoots the puck from the left side straight into Niemi’s pads, and Kopitar deftly wrists the puck to a half empty net. A power play goal 22 seconds into the second period sealed the deal for the Kings, and again for Niemi. Jeff Carter backhands the puck into a Sharks’s skate which ricocheted into the net, and while you can’t fault Niemi for the goal, Stalock did come in to shake up the team. It didn’t work. The Kings won 3-0, with Quick stopping all 30 Sharks shots. Sharks coach Todd McLellan kept Stalock in net for the sixth game, but the Kings won that 4-1, with goals from Williams and two goals from Kopitar. Williams from Robin Regher and Kopitar 11:56 into the third (a highly contested goal, but further review cleared Williams from goaltender interference), then Koipitar from Williams and Dwight King 1:33 later just about did it, but Kopitar wasn’t finished; he closed out the scoring with a late power play goal; a simple shot to the net backed up by some well gelled teamwork.

Sad Joe Thornton

Drew Doughty said he knew the Kings were going to win the series after game four. It took fans a little longer, especially considering the Sharks scored first, 28 seconds into the third period. Quick was screened; the slapshot from Sheppard went straight past his left shoulder into the net. But the Sharks weren’t to score any more. The Kings killed six penalties throughout the game, and scored five unanswered goals. Drew Doughty (whose passion on the ice quickly became a fan favorite. The video of him slamming the glass then subsequently falling onto the ice after winning the WFC was gold) scored first, almost five minutes into the second period. Coming off a five on three, seven seconds into the second penalty, and after several players racked up shots on goal, Carter sneaks the lose puck out to Doughty who lifts it over the outstretched arm of Niemi. Quick robbed Patrick Marlowe on a penalty kill about halfway through the second period with a stunning glove save on the short side snapping the puck out of midair on its way into the net. With a sick backhand by Kopitar with 1:21 remaining in the second, the go ahead goal, Kings fans still weren’t comfortable. Less than five minutes into the third, That 70’s Line (specifically Pearson backhanding the puck to Toffoli without even looking, Toffoli with another stunning shot beats Niemi top shelf) gave the Kings a little cushion. The Sharks pulled Niemi with 2:50 to go, which only served to give the Kings two empty net goals. Brown had the first, batting home a Kopitar cleared puck, then Pearson with his brilliant speed beats two Sharks off the faceoff to make it 5-1, the final nail in the San Jose Sharks 2014 season coffin. Beat LA, eh Sharks fans? More like Can’t Beat LA.

And so the Kings moved onto round two against the suburbs, as beloved mascot Bailey calls them, for the first time in playoff history. Let the crosstown rivalry really begin! The Ducks had home ice but considering Kings fans somewhat affectionately call The Honda Center Staples Center South it didn’t matter much. The Kings scored first, a power play goal by Alec Martinez slapping the puck in short side right past Jonas Hiller‘s glove. The Ducks answered via Matt Beleskey only a few minutes later. (Quick’s aggressive style didn’t serve him well; he followed the puck so far out of his crease Ryan Getzlaf‘s pass to Beleskey had to find the back of the net.) Anaheim scored their second goal on what I hate to admit but was a stunning goal from Teemu Selanne right through Quick’s legs 8:08 into the third, leaving the Kings little time to catch up. But we know that in hockey it’s never over until the fat lady sings, and it’s possible to close any gap in almost any amount of time. The Kings took their sweet time however, unable to score until they pulled goalie Jonathan Quick with 1:22 seconds to go. After a time out, an in a stunning display Mike Richards shuttled the puck to new teammate Marian Gaborik who batted the puck underneath Jonas Hiller‘s right pad with seven seconds to go in the third to force overtime. Gaborik struck again 12:17 into OT (and Kings fans who hadn’t embraced the Slovakian acquired March 5th, 2014, eagerly screamed cheers of celebration for the former Columbus Blue Jacket. Acquiring shooters from the Blue Jackets works well for the LA Kings. See Carter, Jeff and the consequential 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.)

Kings of California

Game two would be the sixth game in a row the Kings won. With a final score of 3-1 The Kings looked on their game again. Of course this wasn’t meant to be, with the Kings dropping their next three games. The second Jonathan Quick was pulled after the first period (most likely, though this wasn’t disclosed until the season’s end, because he broke his hand), setting up backup Martin Jones‘s NHL second stint in the net during the playoffs (he played 18 minutes against the Sharks and stopped all four shots he faced in that time frame). Jones was perfect again – facing no shots in the second and stopping all nine in the third – but the Kings couldn’t find the back of the net and the Ducks won 2-0. (Side note: Martin Jones‘s regular season NHL debut was also against the Ducks. That time at the Honda Center, the game was 2-2 and ended in a shootout, where Jones stopped all 9 shots – an NHL record for a rookie debut. Since then he’s gone on to stop 16 of 17 shootout shots. He also tied an NHL record with eight consecutive wins in a row to begin his NHL career.) Ducks rookie John Gibson also made his playoff debut that game, stopping 28 shots to become the youngest goalie in history to record a shutout in his NHL debut. Not going down without a fight (not going down at all I suppose!), the Kings bookended the series with two more wins.

The first was hard-fought; 2-1 at Staples Center. The second – not so much. The Kings pulled ahead early in the game with a power play goal from Mr Game 7, Justin Williams, 4:30 into the first. (Side note – Justin Williams (who plays with the number fourteen on his back) to date has played in seven game sevens. He has scored seven goals and seven assists.)

Williams just kept hacking at the puck – the first attempt went straight into a falling Gibson’s pad, the second past his right leg straight into the back of the net. Goal two was another beauty from Jeff Carter at 8:48, who won a footrace against the Ducks chasing him (this is in no way surprising), semi-deeked and shuttled the puck past a sprawled Gibson. (Truly a beautiful play and well worth another viewing.) The Ducks had a chance to halve the deficit when Drew Doughty slashed Corey Perry‘s stick, leading to a penalty shot Quick easily dispatched of with his stick. Goal three was destined to be the Kings. A great forecheck in the neutral zone saw the Kings control their entry into the Ducks zone. Dwight King took the initial shot, which rebounded off Gibson’s pad straight into Mike Richards stick. He elevates the puck over Gibson’s now extended right pad and sure enough, the puck bounces straight into the net. (Honorable mention to Kyle Clifford and Alec Martinez for tying up other Ducks players on the boards during the play.)

It’s no wonder Teemu Selanne, who was to play his last game that evening, texted his loved ones during the first period intermission “This is a f**king joke.) 2:02 into the third period Anze Kopitar gets his name on the board. The play again started with a great Kings forecheck in the neutral zone by Drew Doughty (again, this will not be shocking to Kings fans.) He gets the puck to Kopitar who crossed the ice and wristed the shot straight past Gibson’s right arm. Simple. Stunning. The Ducks put Jonas Hiller in after that goal, but ultimately to no avail. The Kings scored a power play goal with 5:52 left in the second (a tic-tac-toe play from Kopitar and Gaborik who ended it with a puck past Hiller’s left shoulder) and their from That 70’s Line. Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson outstripped the Ducks down the ice; Carter took Hiller’s attention to his left, but instead of shooting he passed straight to Pearson who now has a practically wide open net and easily batted it home. The Ducks did get two goals on the board, but it they were outplayed by the Kings in almost every way during the final game, paving the way for the Kings to go on and face their toughest opponent in the playoffs…

Teemu Selanne‘s final NHL game

To be continued…

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