The Stanley Cup Final will get under way from New Jersey tomorrow when
the number six seed out of the Eastern Conference the New Jersey Devils host
the number eight seed out of the Western Conference the Los Angeles Kings.
It isn’t the Stanley Cup Final that most hockey fans would have
predicted. Nevertheless, it should hold the same amount of intrigue from a
national perspective. The Devils are challenging for their fourth Stanley Cup
in seventeen years, while the Los Angeles Kings are trying to capture their
first Stanley Cup in franchise history when it was founded in 1967.
Both teams took their own ways of getting to the Cup Finals. The Kings
took a miniscule fourteen games to win the Western Conference. Their only
blemishes were in Game 4 against the Canucks in the Western Conference Quarter
Finals and to division rival Phoenix in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final.
It’s an astonishing achievement for a team that fired their coach midseason and
was a very mediocre 500. hockey team before March. The hire of head coach
Darryl Sutter may have been the best coach available. In fact, in 2004, Darryl
Sutter took the Calgary Flames on a Cinderella type run. Unfortunately for him,
the series ended in disappointment when the Lightning edged the Flames in a tough
seven games.
In contrast, the Devils who took eighteen games to win the Eastern
Conference and had a different road to the Stanley Cup. They didn’t play as
tough of teams as the Kings did; however, they had more difficulties getting to
the Cup Finals. In fact, twice the Florida Panthers pushed New Jersey to the
verge of elimination; in both games, New Jersey needed an overtime goal to keep
their season alive.
Both of these teams are deserving of being in the Stanley Cup. The
Kings have gotten here with everyone chipping in at different times and a
strong will to win, while the Devils have gotten here with puck luck and
experience.
No player on the Devils roster has more experience than Martin Brodeur. The 40-year-old net minder will be appearing in his fifth Stanley Cup
Final. In his playoff career he has posted a 2.04 Goals Against Average (GAA)
and a 919. Save Percentage. At the age of 40, it would be safe to assume that
this will be his last time in the Cup Final. It’s extremely hard to get to the
Stanley Cup finals once, let alone do it in back to back years. Brodeur is
a class act, therefore, it would be awesome to see the Canadian add a fourth
Stanley Cup ring to his resume.
Whether or not the Devils win the Cup is anyone’s
guess. We still don’t know how the Kings will fair if they face some adversity
and get behind in the series. On the other hand, we still don’t know how much
gas the Devils have left in their tank. For my pick, it would be very easy to
pick the Kings in 5 or 7 games. Why? The last four Stanley Cup Champions have
hoisted the Cup on the other teams ice. However, I see that streak ending this
year.
My Pick: Devils in 7
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