The Stanley Cup Finals for the 2011-12 NHL hockey season are now set and ready to rock and roll. This years finals feature the Western Conference Champions the #8 Los Angeles Kings and the Eastern Conference Champions the #6 New Jersey Devils. The Eastern Conference winner will have home ice advantage for the first time since 2006, since the Devils had a better regular season record than the Kings. The Devils are the lowest-seeded team to have home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals, a record previously held by the Devils when won the Cup as a fourth seed in 2000.
The 2012 Finals ended a long Stanley Cup Finals appearance drought for the Los Angeles Kings, who had appeared in the Finals only once in franchise history, in 1993, when the Wayne Gretzky–led Kings lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games. That year, the Kings were the 6 seed in the western conference. The New Jersey Devils last appeared when winning the championship in 2003. In the Devils four previous trips to the finals they were seeded 5th (1995 Won Cup), 4th (2000 Won Cup), 1st (2001 Lost Cup), and 2nd (2003 Won Cup). So this is the lowest the Devils have even been seeded going into the finals.
The 2012 Stanley Cup Finals will mark the first time two American-born captains face off in the Final, ensuring the first American Stanley Cup-winning captain since Derian Hatcher of the Dallas Stars in 1999. It will also guarantee the lowest-seeded Stanley Cup champion, another record previously held by the Devils who won the Cup as a fifth seed in 1995. The Kings started the regular season at 13–12–4 before firing head coach Terry Murray on December 12. John Stevens served as interim coach before the team hired Darryl Sutter on December 20. Under Sutter, the Kings finished the season at 95 points, earning the #8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Los Angeles then went on to become the second team to eliminate the #1, #2, and #3 seeds from the playoffs in the same postseason (and the first team to do so in that order), after the 2003–04 Calgary Flames, also coached by Darryl Sutter, eliminating the Vancouver Canucks in five games, the St. Louis Blues in four games, and the Phoenix Coyotes in five games, respectively. In addition, the Kings went a perfect 8–0 on the road in these playoff games and the first team to go undefeated while en route to the Finals. The Kings are the second #8 seed to reach the Finals, following the Edmonton Oilers in 2006.
This was the Devils' first season under head coach Peter DeBoer, who replaced the retiring Jacques Lemaire during the offseason. Under DeBoer, New Jersey finished the regular season with 102 points, but ended up with the #6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Devils eliminated DeBoer's former team, the Southeast division-winning Florida Panthers, in seven games, and two of their division rivals, first the fifth-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in five games, and the first-seeded New York Rangers in six games.
Here is the schedule of games for this years Cup Finals:
WED, MAY 30, 2012 8 pm LOS ANGELES KINGS AT NEW JERSEY DEVILS NBC, CBC, RDS
SAT, JUNE 2, 2012 8 pm LOS ANGELES KINGS AT NEW JERSEY DEVILS NBC, CBC, RDS
MON, JUNE 4, 2012 8 pm NEW JERSEY DEVILS AT LOS ANGELES KINGS NBCSN, CBC, RDS
WED, JUNE 6, 2012 8 pm NEW JERSEY DEVILS AT LOS ANGELES KINGS NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*SAT, JUNE 9, 2012 8 pm LOS ANGELES KINGS AT NEW JERSEY DEVILS NBC, CBC, RDS
*MON, JUNE 11, 2012 8 pm NEW JERSEY DEVILS AT LOS ANGELES KINGS NBC, CBC, RDS
*WED, JUNE 13, 2012 8 pm LOS ANGELES KINGS AT NEW JERSEY DEVILS NBC, CBC, RDS
Now that we have you set up for the finals, lets take a closer look at how these two teams stack up.
Offense: The Kings average 2.93 goals per game and are being lead offensively by Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Brown has 16 points on 7 goals and 9 assists and Kopitar has 15 points on 6 goals and 9 assists. Four other Kings have double digits in points in these playoffs, Mike Richards (11 points), Justin Williams (11 Points), Dustin Penner (10 Points), and Drew Doughty (10 Points). As for the New Jersey Devils, they average 2.83 goals per game and are being lead offensively by Ilya Kovalchuck and Zach Parise. Kovalchuck has 18 points to lead all playoff scorers with 7 goals and 11 assists, while Zach Parise clocks in with 14 points at 7 goals and 7 assists. Four other Devils have hit double digits in points in the playoffs, Travis Zajac (12 points), Bryce Salvador (11 points), Adam Henrique (11 points), and David Clarkson (10 points). The Devils have had to play four more games in these playoffs than the Kings, so that may possibly help the kings out in this series. Edge: Even
Defense: The Kings have the best defensive team in the post season with allowing 1.57 goals per game. Jonathan Quick has played every minute in the playoffs for the Kings going 12-2 with a 1.54 GAA and a SV% of ,946. Meanwhile for the Devils, they have allowed 2.33 goals per game in the playoffs. Martin Brodeur has played 90% of the games in the post season going 12-5-1 with a GAA of 2.04 and a .923 SV %. The Devils have allowed four goals in a game three times in this playoffs, which going against the Kings is going to be a tough challenge. Edge: Kings
Special Teams: The Devils Powerplay is operating at a 8.2% rate with penalty kill operating at 74.2%. As for the Kings, their powerplay is operating at a rate of 8.1% and a penalty kill of 91.2% and have been pretty lethal scoring shorthanded. The Devils have had a decent powerplay but really have to be on their heels when on the man advantage espically with the likes of Brown and Kopitar on the ice possibly for the Kings. Edge: Even.
Final Analysis: This is going to be a very Very good matchup for the Stanley Cup. Here ypou have two teams that at the start of the playoffs I don't think most analysts had playing for the Cup. This one may actually be the toughest to read. The reason being is that the Kings who are an eight seed weren't expected to get by the Canucks, did that and have lost only two games all playoffs long. As for the Devils they have had to play at least five games in every round in the playoffs to this point. The Kings might have a problem getting going in Game One as they will have had a week off after beating the Coyotes in the West Finals. This will be an even series no doubt. Prediction: Kings in 6!
(Statistics and some information provided by Wikipedia, The Hockey News and NHL.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment