Meanwhile, seven of the last nine champions have played at least one extra game in their respective conference final. Again, New Jersey took the Eastern crown in six games while the Kings won the West in five.
One piece of good news for the Kings is that the two exceptions are from 2009 and 2010.
But with that being said, the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins only needed to wait four days between picking up the Prince of Wales Trophy and dropping the puck against the Detroit Red Wings. The Chicago Blackhawks of the following year had a six-day layoff while the opposing Philadelphia Flyers waited five days.
The Kings will have gone eight days with no authentic game action by the time they commence the cup final in New Jersey on Wednesday.
And although they managed to go a combined 8-1 after a six-day and seven-day layover in the previous rounds, they will need to resist any rust if they are to maintain a realistic shot at the championship.
Los Angeles is still an improbable 8-0 on the road in these playoffs, but the Devils are a league-best 6-2 on their home ice and have won six of their last seven in the Prudential Center.
A split of the first two games will not exactly ring a death knell on the Kings’ underdog run, but if they must settle for that, they will want to be sure to take Game 1.
Relinquishing their road perfection as part of their first impression on the Devils would only make it tougher to claim Game 2 and usurp precious home-ice advantage.
Head coach Darryl Sutter must ensure his players’ legs are thawed out in advance of Wednesday night’s Game 1 faceoff, for a slow start will s...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
