Out west, the Los Angeles Kings may have something to say about that.
Powered by Jeff Carter's hat trick in a 4-0 win in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night in Arizona, the eighth-seeded Kings now hold a two-games-to-none lead over the third-seeded Phoenix Coyotes. The Kings also had the same lead in their first two series this spring, against the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues, respectively—and everyone knows how both of those affairs turned out.
"When you look at it, it's not very normal that you've only played this few of games in the third round," said coach Darryl Sutter to the Los Angeles Times.
And to think Carter was wasting away in Columbus before a late-season trade reunited him with fellow Philadelphia Flyers exile Mike Richards in Hollywood. Now the Flyers are off golfing, while Carter and Richards and the rest of the Kings are just two wins away from the finals.
Los Angeles team captain Dustin Brown leads all active playoff scorers this spring with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. He's also recorded 51 hits, 24 penalty minutes, a plus-11 rating, seven blocked shots and three game-winning goals in 11 outings while helping the Kings to seven consecutive playoff road victories this spring.
Anze Kopitar has four goals and 13 points up front, while Richards has 3-7—10 points. Defensively, the group of Drew Doughty, Matt Greene, Willie Mitchell and Rob Scuderi is a combined plus-28 and has also chipped in with three goals and 15 points.
Last but definitely not least, add in goaltender Jonathan Quick. The Connecticut native made 24 saves Tuesday in recording his second playoff shutout and is now 10-1 with two shutouts...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
