The Kings currently hold a 2-0 lead against Phoenix in the Western Conference finals. They haven't lost in nearly a month, when they dropped Game 3 of the quarterfinals to Vancouver before quickly coming back and sealing up the series with a win. They swept St. Louis in the semifinals and have won seven in a row, and they've also won seven straight playoff games on the road, which matches an NHL record.
Their secret? A goaltender no one can seem to beat.
Only once this postseason has Jonathan Quick allowed more than two goals—unsurprisingly, it was in that quarterfinals loss, when L.A. went down 3-1. Aside from that, he's boasted two shutouts and has a 1.45 goals-against average with a .951 save percentage.
At this point, it doesn't matter that the Kings finished in third place in the Pacific Division and were the last team into the playoffs. Right now, they're in the process of dismantling the team that finished at the top of their division, just like they've done to the two best teams in the conference over the last month. It's going to take a colossal collapse for them to lose four of the six games remaining in this series to keep themselves out of the finals.
Of course, the Kings won't let themselves think about the fact that they are in the best shape of any team at this point. They're the most rested team, the most feared and the most likely team to win the Stanley Cup, based on this postseason's evidence.
Perhaps the fact that they refuse to think about that is the reason they're winning so convincingly. They don't think at all—they just do.
After a 4-0 win over the Coyotes on T...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
