Can The Los Angeles Kings Win The Stanley Cup As An Eighth Seed?

Discussion in 'WEST: Pacific Division' started by UncleRico, May 7, 2012.

  1. UncleRico

    UncleRico Suspended

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    Entering the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, any sports betting enthusiast who took the Los Angeles Kings to make it to the finals would have been called crazy. As the eighth seed in the ever daunting Western Conference, the Kings stumbled in to the playoffs, losing on the final day of the season in overtime to clinch the berth. Since they backed into the playoffs, it goes without saying that many fans, handicappers and analysts, expected the Kings to be destroyed in the first round, or at the most, the second round. Instead, entering today, the Kings were the first team to qualify for the betting online conference finals, after ousting the St. Louis Blues!

    As the LA Kings prepare for the winner of the Nashville v Phoenix semi-finals, they have an opportunity to reflect on the last nine games. For those of you who haven’t followed the bookie software playoffs, the Kings made history over the last nine games, as they knocked off the top seeded Vancouver Canucks in five games, then followed suit by sweeping the second seeded St. Louis Blues. After nearly 19 years of not being good enough, or needing that one extra piece, the Kings are playing on a level that not even their fan base could have imagined. While most hockey fans and analysts would be impressed with the Kings for defeating the two best teams in the regular season, everyone else is now expecting Cup or bust.

    Going into the regular season, let alone this current playoff run, expectations were and still are at an all time high. As we noted earlier, the Kings have struggled for basically 19 years, since their lone Stanley Cup appearance in 1993 with Wayne Gretzky at the helm. For all intents and purposes the current core of the Kings has been together for the better part of the last seven years, but had always struggled. With this in mind, GM Dean Lombardi was quick to trade for both Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, and fire Head Coach Andy Murray and replace him with former Cup finalist coach Darryl Sutter. In other words, the moves Lombardi has made this year, has convinced sportsbook review writers, that this is the year the Kings finally get over the hump and win the Stanley Cup.

    Luckily for Lombardi and long suffering Los Angeles Kings fans, the moves he made to bolster the club’s Stanley Cup opportunity has paid off. If the Kings had failed to make the playoffs this season, you can guarantee, that the ownership group would have jettisoned Lombardi and gone in a new direction. However, as of this writing, it isn’t Carter and Richards that have had the biggest impact, but two core pieces fans, media and handicappers of the NHL have waited to blossom for years, Captain Dustin Brown and goalie John Quick. Brown was considered a draft bust, as despite being the Captain, he was unable to lead the Kings to the Cup. Meanwhile, Quick, was often criticized for his lack of coming up with the big save in previous playoff runs.

    Present day, could the Kings really be heading to the Western Conference Finals, as an eighth seed, without their long-time Captain and franchise goaltender? What’s more? While Richards and Carter have provided stability, Lombardi’s other moves throughout his tenure must also be credited. Aside from Brown and Quick, Lombardi has built one of the deepest prospect pools, which in turn has allowed the Kings to trade from an area of strength. For instance, when the Kings traded Jack Johnson a highly touted defenseman for Jeff Carter, it would have been easy to throw in the white towel and concede his job. Yet, Lombardi felt adding Carter, was the move needed to allow the Kings to take the next step in their development, and enter the Western Conference Finals.
     

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