The Kings finished the 2012 regular season as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Then they blasted through the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks 4-1 and swept the second-seeded St. Louis Blues before smoking the third-seeded Phoenix Coyotes 4-1. They did all that without losing a single road game.
During the regular season the Kings finished with a record of 40-27-15, which means they won less than half their games. But somehow Los Angeles has put it all together and is hitting on all cylinders right now.
Goalie Jonathan Quick is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy and has been outstanding all season, as has forward Anze Kopitar. But captain Dustin Brown, forwards Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Dustin Penner and defenseman Drew Doughty have all stepped up in the postseason.
Right now the Kings are so deep that their third line of Dwight King, Jarret Stoll and Trevor Lewis has been the best on the ice in several games. King, a rookie, already has five playoff goals.
Meanwhile, Brown and Kopitar currently carry plus-13 ratings that are the highest in the postseason.
Los Angeles has a roster that was meticulously crafted by general manager Dean Lombardi, and boasts a ton of talent. But after a tough start the Kings fired head coach Terry Murray 29 games into the season and replaced him with Darryl Sutter.
There was a long period of adjustment, and Lombardi also swung a blockbuster trade to acquire Carter at the deadline. But now the team has come together seemingly out of nowhere and they are on a roll that has turned them into Stanley C...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
