Pepper On Sports

The Kings went from trying to make happy history by winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in the franchise’s 45-year existence to possibly ending up on the wrong side of history with a hockey collapse of epic proportion. 

In a seven-game series, a 3-0 lead looks insurmountable regardless of the sport.  A deficit of that magnitude has never been overcome in an NBA playoff series.  The Boston Red Sox were the first to break the barrier in their legendary ALCS win against the New York Yankees en route to the World Series title in 2004. 

Compared to baseball and hoops, Hockey teams are entitled to have hope when down 0-3, albeit just a tiny sliver.  Three times in NHL playoff history has a team climbed out of the huge 3-0 hole to win the series.

As a No. 8 seed ripping through the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Kings have not only taken the hockey community by surprise, but it’s own home city of Los Angeles has been transformed from a collection of beach-going basketball and baseball fans to a population of people warmly embracing the cold ice of hockey along with the excitement and edge the fight for the Cup creates. 

Winning 10 consecutive road games in this year’s playoffs (12 dating back to last season) en route to series victories over the 1, 2 and 3 seeds out West had the media and most fans crowning the Kings invincible heading into the Cup Finals against the also surprising New Jersey Devils.

Beating the Devils twice in Jersey only continued the clamor for the Kings, despite both games being decided in overtime and the Devils actually outplaying L.A. in Game 2.  But Game 3 in L.A. was all Kings as the home team crushed the visiting Devils 4-0 making the sweep look pretty realistic. 

The Kings had twice led three games to none in these playoffs and lost the fourth game at home, so it shouldn’t have shocked anybody that a desperate Devils team staved elimination with a Game 4 victory, sweeping the brooms aside.  But the Kings are better on the road than on home ice making a Game 5 win all the more difficult for the Devils.

The Kings have vastly improved over the last few months (after a trade and coaching change) as the players have become so in synch with each other that L.A.’s lines seem to move in flawless formations with each man knowing exactly what each of his teammates is doing and where on the ice he’s doing it. 

L.A. has won games while being outplayed because the Kings players have consistently been in the right place at the right time for rebounds, redirects and deflections near the net, on faceoffs, etc.  Despite playing extremely well in Game 5, the Kings lacked their usual “right place, right time” magic.  Missed shots that lingered deliciously close to Martin Brodeur and were ripe for the taking went untouched by the Kings who were often times nowhere near position when it came to rebounds and second chances.  The Kings were off-kilter while the Devils were carried on the back of Brodeur. 

With Bryce Salvador’s shot deflecting off of L.A.’s Slava Voynov and into the net, along with captain Zach Parise’s goal, the Devils found themselves with the “right place, right time” style typically fit for the Kings. 

With the 2-1 victory, the Devils became the first team to force a Game 6 after losing the the first three in the Stanley Cup Final since 1945 and only the third team ever (out of 26) to do so since adopting a seven-game series format in 1939. 

Only the 1942 Maple Leafs have overcome a 0-3 deficit in the finals to win Lord Stanley’s cup.  33 years later, the New York Islanders turned the 0-3 upside down on the Penguins, beating Pittsburgh in seven games in the 1975 quarterfinals. 

But what has me worried is what I watched with my own two eyes while I lived in Boston in 2010 as the Philadelphia Flyers became only the third team (in 167 tries) in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series.  The momentum shift was palpable in that series, like a ship swaying back and forth on choppy waters.   The ship finally settled in Philly’s favor after the Flyers took Game 5.  That was the turning point, the halfway mark. 

It’s easy to say, “boy, it sure is hard to beat a team four straight times.”  Heck, I thought there was NO WAY that after winning 20 straight games, the Spurs could lose four in a row to the Thunder.  It just didn’t make sense.

But it does make sense, especially in a sport like hockey where one mistake can cost an entire game.  The first two games in this series could’ve gone either way.  The series easily could have returned to L.A. with the Devils leading 2-0.  That’s why it is so hard to predict “if the Kings lose Game 6, they’re done.  The momentum will be clearly on the Devils’ side and it’s over.”  All of the momentum in the world can’t stop one guy from making one mistake, turning the tide.

If the Kings do lose Game 6 at home, Game 7 will prove to be one fierce battle for the crown as it will truly be anyone’s game.  I say Kings in six, or Devils in seven. 

From their colors to their coasts, the Devils and Kings couldn’t be more different, yet in other areas, these teams have quite a bit in common, especially their underdog status. 
Nobody expected the No. 6 seed Devils, or worse, the No. 8 seed Kings to be around in June playing for the Stanley Cup, but alas, here we are, with Jersey and L.A. as the last teams standing. 

Historically speaking, the edge goes to the Devils who are gunning for a fourth championship (they won it all in 1995, 2000 and 2003) as they have now made the Final five times since 1995.  Not too shabby.  In fact, the 1995 Devils, as a No. 5 seed, are etched in the history books as being the lowest seed to ever win the Cup.  One way or the other, a new group of men will take that title within the next two weeks.

The Kings record books are barren in comparison as the Gretzky-led Kings’ loss to the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 marks the only Final appearance for L.A. 

Both teams have players with Cup Final experience on their resumes, but the Kings young nucleus of Jonathan Quick, Anze Kopitar and team captain Dustin Brown is completely lacking in that department while the Devils’ on-ice and locker room leader Martin Brodeur, is one of the most experienced players in the history of professional hockey. 

The Kings’ inexperience has been nearly invisible since their unexpected playoff run began as L.A. ripped through the Western Conference with a 12-2 record after beating Vancouver Canucks in five games, sweeping the St. Louis Blues and disposing of the Phoenix Coyotes in five games as well. All three of L.A.’s series-winning games came on the road as the Kings are 8-0 away from home. 

The Devils’ road to the Cup Final has been tougher, needing a full seven games to take care of the Florida Panthers in the first round, followed by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games and the top-seed New York Rangers in six games.  Of course, Brodeur - who turned 40-years-old during the Conference Semifinals - has been outstanding in net for the Devil while rookie Adam Henrique has impressed, scoring two series-winning goals, both coming in overtime periods. 

The Devils won the regular season series beating the Kings in both games, the first, by a score of 3-0 (both teams played with backup goaltenders) and the second by a final score of 2-1 in a shootout.  Both teams use size and aggression when battling for the puck and on the forecheck.  It should be interesting to watch these two go against each other considering their similar style in that respect.

Perhaps the most interesting match up isn’t even a true match up at all, as Brodeur and Jonathan Quick are the brightest-shining stars of the bunch.  Old Man Marty has a 2.04 GAA in the playoffs while Quick’s stat line looks outstanding with a 1.54 GAA.  While neither guy has the flash or looks of a Henrik Lundqvist, both men have had their fair share of exquisite, body-bending saves throughout the playoffs.  In fact, the Kings players themselves will admit that they wouldn’t have made the playoffs if it weren’t for the consistency of Quick throughout the regular season, especially in that last month. 

Both goalies have had plenty of help in the playoffs as the Devils are averaging 11.27 blocked shots per game while the Kings are keeping the crease clear for Quick at a rate of 14.07 blocked shots per contest.  Drew Doughty and Willie Mitchell are playing with brutal physicality on the blue line for L.A. and Anton Volchenkov and Marek Zidlicky are doing the same for New Jersey.

As for the offense, the Devils are lucky, boasting four solid lines and guys like Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise who have played big-time in these playoffs.  As for the Kings, most agree that the team’s top six forwards are the ones to worry about, but L.A. has had 15 different players score at least one goal and another 15 log at least one assist in the playoffs.  That’s ridonkulous. 

Special teams has been interesting for both teams in the post season.  The Devils are scoring on the man advantage 18.2% of the time while the Kings are at a measly 8.1% on the PP. Perhaps the more important number comes on the flip side of the coin.  The Devils are 74.2% on the penalty kill while L.A. is a whopping 91.2% on the PK.  Jersey has logged two shorthanded goals while the Kings have scored five while killing penalties.  The Devils can really do some damage if they can poke holes in the Kings special teams play. 

At the end of the day, my heart says Kings.  Then again, I’ve picked against the Devils in every series, and they’ve made a liar out of me each time.  I think the extra rest for the Kings, as well as their special teams unit and the play of Dustin Penner might just put L.A. over the top and crown the Kings Stanley Cup Champions for the first time in franchise history. 

They say history often repeats itself and the New York Rangers are living proof of it.  The Rangers’ third-round playoff series against the New Jersey Devils has mimicked the first two seesaw-like rounds in which the East’s No. 1 seed won the first game, lost the second, and rebounded for a Game 3 victory.

The home team Devils actually dominated the first two periods showing plenty of toughness and out-shooting the Rangers 26-14 en route to a goose-egg tie heading into the third period of play.  Henrick Lundqvist was phenomenal throughout and when push came to shove - both literally and figuratively - New York’s offense pulled its head out from you know where to smoke New Jersey late for the 3-0 win.

It took some nudging on behalf of Rangers coach John Tortorella to wake his boys up.  By way of verbal lashings and line shake-ups, Tort reminded the guys, “Hey! You fools are the freakin #1 Rangers, so get out there and act like it.” 

Apparently Rangers right winger  Brandon Prust heard that message loud and clear as he elbowed the back of Anton Volchenkov’s head, dislodging his helmet right after a Tortorella pep talk.  While wanting to prove to your coach that you get the point, that was a less-than-ideal way to do it as Prust is almost certain to be suspended at least one game for the play in which no penalty was called. 

Much like in Game 1 of this series, the tables turned completely in the third period.  Dan Girardi, a proud member of the Rangers’ fourth line,  was the first to inflict pain on the Devils, scoring a only a few minutes in.  The Devils didn’t even have time to suffer the pain of an 1-0 deficit as Chris Krieder  -a rookie who was playing for BOSTON COLLEGE in April, and now has a goal in each of the last three games - scored 1:57 later, changing the landscape of the game in a hurry.

Lundqvist and the 40-year-old Marty Brodeur were both fantastic in the first two periods, but the Rangers goaltender could not be matched over the long haul.  Lundqvist finished the game with 36 saves while Brodeur’s 19 saves -many of them spectacularly physical and heroic- were not enough to to combat the two he let in early in the third period, the first, coming right off a face-off during a power play.

New York’s third goal came on the cheap, an empty-netter from Ryan Callahan providing icing on the cake with only a few minutes remaining in the game.

Lundqvist, who logged his second shutout of the series, said after the game that it was just a matter of time before things started to go the Rangers’ way, and he was right, as the more physical and skilled team eventually prevailed.  The Devils, who with the loss broke a four-game win streak on home ice, were unable to capitalize on the power play going 0-5. 

The bazillion-dollar-man himself was no match for the super-human Lundqvist as the Rangers netminder stopped Ilya Kovalchuk on a breakaway 49 seconds into the second period before logging a set of back-to-back saves shortly after. The sequence set the tone for the rest of the game, letting Los Diablos know that that whether or not his teammates were going to block shots, Lundqvist wasn’t letting a penny squeak past him today.

Between old man Brodeur, Hollywood Henrik and the rookie Krieder (whose story is sure to be made into a Disney movie if he keeps playing at this level), there is no shortage of great story lines and physical play forcing our fingers crossed in hopes of this series going 7 games. 

And if the Rangers’ recent history repeats itself, seven games it is.