Half of Stanley Cup Finals Set. Kings Win West!

The Los Angeles Kings have made history by advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993. After last nights thrilling OT victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in game five, the Kings became the first 8 seed ever to knock off the top three seeds in the conference to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 19 years. It took the Kings five games to do it but they put down the Coyotes to advance to the finals. Lets now take a look at how they did it against Phoenix.

Game One was in Phoenix and it was dominated by the Kings. Anze Kopitar got the scoring going four minutes into the game, but that was answered by Derek Morris of the Coyotes, so the period ended in a 1-1 tie. The Kings dominated the opening period with a 17-4 shots advantage but were only able to come away with the tie. In the 2nd again it was one goal per team, Dwight King half way through for the Kings, and Mikkel Boedker for the Coyotes late in the period. Shots in the 2nd were more even 17-14 in favor of the Kings. LA put the game out of reach in the 3rd, shutting down the Coyotes. Shots in the 3rd were again in favor of LA 14-9 and the Kings scored the only two goals, Dustin Brown just over 2 minutes in, and Dwight King's 2nd of the game into an empty net put the game away and game the Kings a 1-0 series lead.

Game Two was another strong showing from the Kings as a team but two guys really took over this contest, Jonathan Quick and Jeff Carter. The Kings dominated from start to finish in this 4-0 shutout of the Coyotes, dominating in shots 40-24 and putting up 4 goals. Quick had a few busy spots during this game and had to make some good saves, but it didn't really seem as if he was tested too much. The scoring for LA got started with Dwight King 13:15 into the game. After that Jeff Carter took off on offense for LA. Carter, who had been a stud in playoffs past for the Flyers, had been quiet this year until this game, when he netted a natural hat trick to ice the game for LA. Carter's 1st goal came at 4:47 of the 2nd period. Then to really put an exclamation point on things, he scored twice on the power play, his 2nd goal coming late in the 2nd, and he capped off the trick with his 2nd power play goal at the 12:47 mark of the 3rd. Game two was pretty physical near the end with a ton of penalty minutes handed out, which sad to say has become a staple of this years playoffs, being one of the more physical and fight filled in recent memory.

Game Three saw the series shift to LA, and it was the tightest checking game of the series, a 2-1 victory for LA. The first period saw no0 scoring and only one penalty called.Phoenix got on the board first in this one thanks to Daymond Langkow's first of the playoffs 1:03 into the 2nd period. But the Kings answered about two minutes later thanks to Anze Kopitar, who turned into a goal scoring machine in the playoffs this year. LA grabbed the lead and never looked back in the 3rd thanks to a big goal from Dwight King 1:47 into the 3rd. Jonathan Quick shut the door in the 3rd and grabbed the Kings a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Phoenix showed some signs of life in Game Four thanks to goalie Mike Smith and team captain Shane Doan. Smith got the shutout and Doan scored both goals in the 2-0 victory for the Coyotes to force a game five in the series. Smith made 36 saves in the shutout and looked great. It was the first time the Coyotes showed a real true sense of urgency at all during this series and they really did start to look like a #3 seed. Doan's first goal came on the power play at the 14:19 mark of the 1st period, with his 2nd goal coming at the 11:10 mark of the 2nd. This game the Coyotes played a solid all around game and the Kings really didn't have an answer.

Game Five was the deciding game in the series, and the Kings did what they had to do to win, but it had to go to overtime to decide it. Taylor Pyatt scored on the power play for the Coyotes 4:20 into the game. The kings responded with yet another short handed goal, this one coming from Anze Kopitar at the 11:13 mark to tie the game at 1. With the 2nd period underway the offense really took off for both clubs. Marc-Antoine Pouliot gave Phoenix the lead, only to have Drew Doughty and Mike Richards respond to give LA the 3-2 lead. The Coyotes tied the game near the end of the 2nd thanks to Keith Yandle. The 3rd period was scoreless, but saw some great stops by both Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith, to force overtime. Then with just over two minutes left in the first overtime Dustin Penner ended the Coyotes season and set Los Angeles into a frenzy:



So thanks to Penner's Heroics the Coyotes are out and the Kings move on. This was a great season and playoff run for the Coyotes, who have been bounced in the first round each of the last two years by Detroit. Mike Smith played great in net for the team and on some nights really seemed to carry the Coyotes. Shane Doan wasn't too happy with the calls made by the refs during this series and made that fact very well known to the media after the game. Hats off to the Coyotes for one hell of a season, and they have nothing to be ashamed of for getting as far as they did this season. Congratulations to the Phoenix Coyotes on a great season.

As for the Los Angeles Kings they are advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993, a year in which they lost in 5 games to the Canadiens. This will be the 2nd ever trip to the Finals for the Kings in franchise history. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar are leading the offensive charge for the Kings. Brown has 16 points on 7 goals and 9 assists, and Kopitar has 15 points on 6 goals and 9 assists. Jonathan Quick has been outstanding between the pipes for the Kings playing every minute of every game, and currently stands with a record of 12-2 with a 1.54 GAA and a .946 SV%. Quick is making a solid case for Conn Smyth Trophy winner as playoff MVP. Who the Kings will play in the Cup Final is yet to be decided but it will be between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers. Whoever the Kings play in the finals, they are going to be in for a dog fight against a very tough and very hot Los Angeles Kings!