NHL Playoffs 2012: Why the Los Angeles Kings Will Cruise to Stanley Cup Title

The Kings won a league-high 11th postseason game last night, beating the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 and taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the Western Conference final series.

Virtually no team has been able slow down the Kings, who entered the 2012 playoffs on a bit of a roll and with something to prove after losing the third seed in the West to their current opponent.

The eighth-seeded Kings eliminated the Presidents' Trophy-winning and defending Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks in a quick five-game series in Round 1 and embarrassed the seemingly impenetrable defense of the St. Louis Blues in a four-game sweep.

Currently, Los Angeles holds a 3-0 series lead over their Pacific Division rivals, the third-seeded Coyotes.

While the Kings failed to live up to their potential during the regular season, the organization shook things up with a head coaching change and a blockbuster trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.  So far, both have contributed to the Kings' dominance this postseason.

Now only five wins away from lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time in the franchise's 44 seasons, it doesn't look like anyone can slow down the cruising Kings.

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