Well, that's it. The New Jersey Devils have knocked off the 1-seeded New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals to secure their spot in the NHL finals against the Los Angeles Kings. Both teams with a unique story that got them to the finals:
Overlook
The New Jersey Devils started out the playoffs as the sixth seeded team in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs they had to play the third seeded Florida Panthers. A team that was looked at as 'overrated' and that 'shouldn't have been seeded as highly' proved their critics right. The Devils defeated the young Panthers team in seven games. In the second round theyhad to play the fifth seeded Philadelphia Flyers. They dominated their first round series against their rival Pittsburgh Penguins, and looked heavily, as the favorite to defeat the Devils. But Devils veteran goaltender Martin Brodeur, stepped up, and was like a brick wall between the pipes. While Brodeur played phenomenally, Philadelphia goaltender, Ilya Bryzgalov, couldn't stop a beach ball from going in. New Jersey ended up taking the series quickly, 4-1. The Devils would next play the top seeded New York Rangers in the Eastern Coference Final. The Rangers had previously played, and defeated, the eigth seeded Ottawa Senators in the first round (winning the series in seven games), and the seventh seeded Washington Capitals (also winning the series in seven games). But when it came time for the Rangers to take on the Devils, Brodeur was still on fire, and couldn't be stopped. The Devils offense got hot too, making them very hard to stop as a unit. The teams split the first two games in New York, and also split the firs two games in New Jersey. When they went back to Madison Square Garden, the Devils took the lead in the series 3-2. They were one win away from winning the series, and the fact that they were headed back home for game six made them feel that much closer to the Stanley Cup Finals. They were tied at two early in game six, and the score stayed the same until overtime. Just 1:03 into the first overtime period, there was a lose puck hanging around the net, and Adam Henrique came up big for New Jersey, to jam in the rebound, and send his team to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Los Angeles Kings started out the playoffs as the lowest seed in the Western Conference. They had to play the top seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round. Very few gave them a chance to win two, even one game against the Canucks. When the series started, Vancouver goalie, Roberto Luongo, had ended the regular season on a hot streak. But come palyoff time, simply put, he choked. The Kings scorers were dominating Luongo, and his scorers were doing nothing to help him out. The Kings won the first three games of the series. The Canucks, facing elimination, needed to win game four. And they did. They went bac to Vancouver though for game five. And that was it. They lost their third gan last game of the playoffs in front of their home crowd. The Kings picked up quite a few bandwagoners after that series. The Kings would then go on to face the second seeded St. Louis Blues, who had previously defeated the San Jose Sharks. The Kings were still facing a lot of criticism. People were sayign that the only reason that they won their first series was because Luongo choked. They still had to prov themseves to the haters. And that they did, sweeping the St. Louis Blues 4-0. The Blues just were no match for the Kings. And the Kings were headed to the Western Conference Finals. They would have to play the third seeded Phoenix Coyotes, who had previously defeated the Chicago Blackhawks (winning the series 4-2) and the Nashville Predators (winning the series 4-1). They had looked like a legitimate threat. Until they actually played. The Kings would win the first three games to this series too. The 3-0 lead made it look like it was over. And it pretty much was. The Kings lost the last game at home, but won on the road to take the series. The eight seeded Los Angelas Kings were headed to the Stanley Cup Finals. The eigth seeded Los Anglas Kings are going to the Stanley Cup Finals, with only two playoff losses to their names.
The Finals start on Wednesday May 30th in New Jersey. The scedule goes as follows:
- Game 1: Kings at Rangers/Devils on Wednesday, May 30 (NBC/CBC)
- Game 2: Kings at Rangers/Devils on Saturday, June 2 (NBC/CBC)
- Game 3: Rangers/Devils at Kings on Monday, June 4 (NBC Sports Network/CBC)
- Game 4: Rangers/Devils at Kings on Wednesday, June 6 (NBC Sports Network/CBC)
- Game 5 (if necessary): Kings at Rangers/Devils on Saturday, June 9 (NBC/CBC)
- Game 6 (if necessary): Rangers/Devils at Kings on Monday, June 11 (NBC/CBC)
- Game 7 (if necessary): Kings at Rangers/Devils on Wednesday, June 13 (NBC/CBC)
Biggest Factors
Los Angelas Kings- Jonathan Quick, Dustin Brown, and Anze Kopitar
New Jersey Devils- Martin Brodeur, Adam Henrique, Zach Parise
Mike's Pick
The series is probably the most evenly matched series that we could have asked for. If Brodeur stays hot, and the Kings keep doing what they're doing, we are in for a long, exciting series. I would be shocked if it doesn't take all seven games. I will have to go with New Jersey winning the finals in an exciting seven game series.
Be sure to watch those games, and feel free to leave your predictions in the comment box below.
