Stanley Cup Final, The End!
Game 6, New Jersey Devils at Los Angeles Kings. Sure, the game was last night but...hey! The party's just getting started!
First of all, I must congratulate The LA Kings for making history. The first 8th seeded team to win the Stanley Cup since the 8-team playoff format was adopted. The 1st Stanley Cup in franchise history, dating back to the 1967-1968 season (so it's 44 seasons or 45 years). The first team to beat the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd seeded teams in the same playoffs. The first team to win on home-ice since 2007 (when, strangely, another Californian based team, the Anaheim Ducks, won their Cup). The team that defied all the odds. The team that shouldn't have been here, but they're here now and they're not going away.
But of course, I don't want to go far without congratulating the New Jersey Devils for making it this far. Yes, it's just short of what they wanted, but as a franchise, they were a team that didn't even make the playoffs last season, so to make it this far into the playoffs only a year later is already an accomplishment of its own. The only unfortunate thing to come out of this is the uncertain future the team faces now with financial issues and what do they do with their captain, Zach Parise. Parise only signed for 1-year, so what do they do? And do we know for sure Martin Brodeur is coming back? Or what do they do if Brodeur does choose to retire? Yikes. But they still need to be proud of how far they made it as a 6th-seeded team.
Now, the Kings, this game was just...something else. It started with New Jersey putting on a lot of pressure but all of a sudden, a bad hit behind the LA net lead to a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for Steve Bernier. In that 5-minute major, the Kings score 3 goals and that would a really big nail in the coffin for the Devils. Nothing was going the Devils' way all night long. To go from having a missed call earlier on to having 3 goals scored on you during the same 5-minute penalty to having just all sorts of bad bounces. By the end of the 1st period, the Kings were already leading 4-0. By the end of the game, it's 6-1 Kings. The outcome was determined in this game well before the actual end of the game. And now, a pictorial depiction of the Kings:
Jonathan Quick, the goalie, just before the end of the game
Jonathan Quick, the winner of the playoff MVP (the Conn Symthe Trophy)
The captain (Dustin Brown)skating with the Cup
The team with the Cup at centre ice
And now, for my own sake. The Flyers traded away their captain and their top winger/centre within half an hour of each other and now...they're Cup champions. Oh yes, I remember writing that I was shocked that the Flyers would actually DO something like that, and now, with their players winning a Cup away from this team a year later? Vindication.
Mike Richards and Jeff Carter with the Stanley Cup
And now, the party begins. The champagne flows freely. The summer long party is only starting now.
And now, we wait until the NHL Awards, the NHL Draft, and until September before we get actual hockey again.
First of all, I must congratulate The LA Kings for making history. The first 8th seeded team to win the Stanley Cup since the 8-team playoff format was adopted. The 1st Stanley Cup in franchise history, dating back to the 1967-1968 season (so it's 44 seasons or 45 years). The first team to beat the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd seeded teams in the same playoffs. The first team to win on home-ice since 2007 (when, strangely, another Californian based team, the Anaheim Ducks, won their Cup). The team that defied all the odds. The team that shouldn't have been here, but they're here now and they're not going away.
But of course, I don't want to go far without congratulating the New Jersey Devils for making it this far. Yes, it's just short of what they wanted, but as a franchise, they were a team that didn't even make the playoffs last season, so to make it this far into the playoffs only a year later is already an accomplishment of its own. The only unfortunate thing to come out of this is the uncertain future the team faces now with financial issues and what do they do with their captain, Zach Parise. Parise only signed for 1-year, so what do they do? And do we know for sure Martin Brodeur is coming back? Or what do they do if Brodeur does choose to retire? Yikes. But they still need to be proud of how far they made it as a 6th-seeded team.
Now, the Kings, this game was just...something else. It started with New Jersey putting on a lot of pressure but all of a sudden, a bad hit behind the LA net lead to a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for Steve Bernier. In that 5-minute major, the Kings score 3 goals and that would a really big nail in the coffin for the Devils. Nothing was going the Devils' way all night long. To go from having a missed call earlier on to having 3 goals scored on you during the same 5-minute penalty to having just all sorts of bad bounces. By the end of the 1st period, the Kings were already leading 4-0. By the end of the game, it's 6-1 Kings. The outcome was determined in this game well before the actual end of the game. And now, a pictorial depiction of the Kings:
Jonathan Quick, the goalie, just before the end of the game
Jonathan Quick, the winner of the playoff MVP (the Conn Symthe Trophy)
The captain (Dustin Brown)skating with the Cup
The team with the Cup at centre ice
And now, for my own sake. The Flyers traded away their captain and their top winger/centre within half an hour of each other and now...they're Cup champions. Oh yes, I remember writing that I was shocked that the Flyers would actually DO something like that, and now, with their players winning a Cup away from this team a year later? Vindication.
Mike Richards and Jeff Carter with the Stanley Cup
And now, the party begins. The champagne flows freely. The summer long party is only starting now.
And now, we wait until the NHL Awards, the NHL Draft, and until September before we get actual hockey again.