You can't quite say Southern California because Anaheim lifted the Cup in 2007. But for Kings fans, from the Sports Arena to the Forum to Staples Center, this odyssey seemed almost fitting: an eighth seed that was deemed an afterthought going into the playoffs turned into one of the most dominant teams in playoff history.
Where does it start? How do you properly give the credit to a team that seemed to come out of nowhere, but in truth was poised to make this type of push? Obviously, it starts with dour, but fair head man Daryl Sutter who was lured out of retirement to coach this club in the wake of Terry Murray's firing in mid-December. Sutter, as it has been said time and time again, brought a different energy to this team. The expectations went up, and slowly but surely the effort level and aggressiveness began to match.
In many ways, Sutter's hiring was the ignition to this turnaround. The tipping point was the deadline deal (which many Kings fans did not like) that brought Jeff Carter from Columbus for Jack Johnson. Carter's arrival did not pay immediate dividends, but he brought a dimension of scoring punch the Kings sorely lacked. His eight playoff goals are testament to that.
But let's be honest here. The unquestioned key to this team's ascent was the brilliance of goaltender Jonathan Quick. Over the last three months, Quick was quite simply the best goaltender in hockey. And going 16-4 with a 1.41 goals allowed average in the playoffs and finals, there was no doubt who the Conn Smythe trophy winner was going to be. He simply domi...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
