This Week in Hockey is a weekly column in which assistant blogger Michael Spinner (@MichaelSpinner) shares and discusses the major storylines in the National Hockey League from the past week.
The greatness in the run to the Stanley Cup made by the Los Angeles Kings can be measured in so many different ways, but ultimately what made the ascension of the Kings to the top of the NHL heap truly special is one solitary fact: On December 12, 2011, the Los Angeles Kings saw their season come to an end. That’s right … the Kings were finished. They were dead in the water (or on the ice). The only way the Kings were going to be at the top of the NHL would be the amateur draft board. Despite incredibly lofty pre-season expectations, it was on 12/12 that the Kings – for all intents and purposes and lack of a better term – were finished …
That is, until they weren’t.
Playing in a Western Conference that seemed was loaded top-to-bottom, when the Kings started out 15-14-4 through two months of play that concluded with a stretch of a dozen games where they failed to score more than two goals in regulation, it seemed that the hunt for the Stanley Cup would never go through Los Angeles. Not only were Vancouver, Chicago, and Detroit in the midst of their usual outstanding runs, the 2011-2012 season also featured Nashville and St. Louis teams that by all accounts were legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. At 15-14-4 and with an offense that seemed anemic on a good day, the Kings were – at the time – a post-season afterthought.
And then we hit December 12 and the whole thing unraveled. General Manager Dean Lombardi fired Head Coach Terry Murray, and went out and hired Darryl Sutter to be the team’s Head Coach. Sutter, a seasoned NHL coach and part of the famed Sutter clan, was many things to Los Angeles upon his hiring, one of which was the absolutely wrong fit for the franchise. The Kings issue, it seemed, was an inability to be creative on the offensive end of the ice despite a roster full of talent. Sutter, who had achieved success during previous stops as a Head Coach despite calling the NHL a ‘3-2 league’ and preaching extreme defensive discipline and a conservative offense attack hardly seemed to be the coach to oversee a transformation.
On top of a philosophical outlook that appeared to be in conflict with the make-up of the team, Sutter brought to the table an approach that worked with veteran teams in Calgary, but seemed to be a terrible fit for a more youthful, up-tempo built Los Angeles franchise.
Many hockey experts praised Lombardi for making a coaching change, but decried him for the end result.
And then we all saw what happened next. Los Angeles didn’t exactly go on a tear, but they certainly found their way. Led by goaltender Jonathan Quick, who could presently be the best player in hockey, and an opportunistic offense, the Kings began 2012 having to play playoff hockey pretty much every night of the week until the playoffs actually began, giving this team a sense of battle toughness that no other Western Conference teams possessed when the post-season actually began.
And when the playoffs began, the same Sutter who called the NHL a ‘3-2 league’ seemed to unleash the proverbial hounds for perhaps the first time in his coaching career. The playoff team out of Los Angeles became an up-tempo squad that used its speed and depth to wear opponents down, and their forecheck was simply incredible. During the opening round against the Vancouver Canucks, NBC Sports Network announcers repeatedly praised the Kings for their ability to maintain puck possession, and keep it away from the potent Canucks offense. And when Vancouver did have opportunities, Quick was there to shut the door.
At the end of the day, the Los Angeles Kings proved this season that when it comes to the NHL, the playoffs are literally a second season. Sensing what was likely his last run at a Stanley Cup as a coach, Sutter spent the remainder of the regular season learning his team and its possibilities, and then we saw almost a brand-new Kings squad once the post-season came around.
We also saw the Los Angeles Kings continue the blueprint for those who wish to obtain the Stanley Cup for themselves, a blueprint we have seen ever since the lockout ended … and a blueprint that New York Rangers fans should pay very close attention to. Since the 2004-05 lockout, there are common threads shared by the teams to eventually win the Stanley Cup, common threads we saw from the Kings this season:
- Great Goaltending: How great was Jonathan Quick during the playoffs? Quick had a .946 save percentage during four rounds of playoff hockey. In other words, during the most intense, pressure-filled hockey of his career, Quick had a save percentage that .24% higher than the best career regular season save percentage in NHL history (.922 – Dominik Hasek), and no NHL goaltender had a goals against average remotely close to Quick’s 1.41. Among goaltenders who played at least 10 playoff games, Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers had the second-best goals against average – 1.82. Quick allowed a total of 29 goals during the entire post-season … Marc Andre-Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins allowed 26 goals during one round alone. Like Tim Thomas in 2011, Antti Niemi in 2010, Andre-Fleury in 2009, and so many others, if a team is going to win 16 NHL playoff games, the victories begin between the pipes with an outstanding, world-class effort by a goaltender. Henrik Lundqvist was very good overall during the playoffs. Martin Brodeur was great. But, Jonathan Quick was outstanding. He was world class. He outplayed every other goaltender in hockey … and he hoisted the Stanley Cup.
- Winning on the Road: As the 2012 playoffs proved, home-ice advantage during a playoff series is not as important as it would seem. During the first round alone, we saw four lower seeds advance, and in the Eastern Conference the Ottawa Senators were one win away from allowing all of the top-four seeds to exit during the opening round. Is home ice advantage advantageous? Of course. However, it is certainly not mandatory for a Stanley Cup run. The only time home ice is truly an advantage is game seven. Otherwise, the pattern would seem to indicate that if the lower seed can split the first two playoff games – or better – being the lower seed is not much of a disadvantage. And then we have the Los Angeles Kings, who were an unbelievable 10-1 on the road during their trip to the Stanley Cup. While convention would dictate that the team with home ice advantage has an edge in a series because of the early home games, and extra home tilt if a series goes seven games, the reality is that a Stanley Cup Champion needs to win once, maybe twice, on the road during each series. The Kings did just that.
- Superstars playing like superstars: While Jonathan Quick clearly was the best player in hockey during the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, the post-season featured some of the best players in hockey playing at their best. During the first round of the playoffs, Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers was the best player in the sport. As the post-season progressed, Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise began to shine for the New Jersey Devils … particularly during their series against the Flyers and Rangers. Where things were a little bit different for the Los Angeles Kings, was that it just seemed like every one of their top players played at their best. Dustin Brown –fresh off of a semi-dreadful regular season – and Anze Kopitar each had 20 points during 20 playoff games, and both finished an incredible +16. Drew Doughty chipped in 16 points from the blueline, and was a +11. Mike Richards and Dustin Williams each had 15 points. On any team, there are superstars and role players, and for the Los Angeles Kings, the superstars shined in the playoffs, displaying the kind of balanced scoring that Chicago showed the NHL two seasons ago.
A lot of the same can be said for the New Jersey Devils and Kovalchuk, Parise, Brodeur, and future superstar Adam Henrique were outstanding through three rounds of playoff hockey. The problem is that none were exactly stellar during the final round.
Compare all of this to the New York Rangers. Who was the best Ranger during the playoffs? Lundqvist was excellent, but not excellent every game. Brad Richards had some huge moments, but also disappeared at times. I’ll submit that Dan Girardi was the best Ranger this past post-season, but there is of course a counter-argument. However, the point is that the Rangers have several superstars, most of which were not ever much of a factor despite a deep playoff run. Marian Gaborik was ineffective, largely thanks to a major shoulder injury. Ryan Callahan was a shell of his regular season self. The reality is that it took a major elevation in play from Brian Boyle for the Rangers to get past Ottawa, and Chris Kreider to shine during his first NHL moments for the Rangers to get as far as they did. If the Rangers are going to win the Stanley Cup, it has to be led by a healthy and effective Gaborik, a consistent Richards, a superstar Callahan, and the best goaltender in the world to play like the best goaltender in the world. The Los Angeles Kings received this kind of effort from their best players, while the Rangers did not. End of story.
- Special Teams: One of the most crucial stats that were overlooked during the playoffs was the ability of the Los Angeles Kings to kill penalties. During four rounds of hockey, the Kings not only killed a league-leading 92% of power plays they faced, but they scored a league-leading five short-handed goals. In addition, while the Kings did not have a dominant power play – statistically speaking – their power play was quite a weapon throughout the playoffs, often jump-starting the rest of the team’s offense. There were dozens of times this post-season where the Kings failed to convert a power play opportunity, but score shortly thereafter. And then, the Kings got to game six of the Stanley Cup Finals, and they enjoyed what could be remembered as the greatest five minutes in the history of their franchise … thanks to Steve Bernier of the New Jersey Devils. During a time when every goal counts, and every game seems to go right to the wire, the playoffs are a time for the best teams to see their special teams play their best. And when you look at the overall impact of the special teams play of the Los Angeles Kings this post-season, there is little doubt why they claimed the Stanley Cup.
- Luck: Finally, the blueprint for post-season success in the NHL requires a team to get a little bit of luck, particularly in the form of good health. The Los Angeles Kings were lucky in two respects: First, the Western Conference was perhaps overrated during the regular season; and secondly, the Kings remained completely healthy. The Vancouver Canucks were not the same team without Daniel Sedin for most of their series with the Kings, a series that could have been closer if both Sedins had played. During the second round, St. Louis missing Jaroslav Halak was absolutely crucial for the Blues. They enjoyed a similar blueprint to the Los Angeles Kings for much of the regular season, but the moment Halak went down, the Blues were not the same, allowing Los Angeles to win the series. By the time the Kings got to the Conference Finals, they took advantage of their health, rest, and luck to defeat a hardly-dominant Phoenix Coyotes team that had overcome an otherwise overrated Western Conference, and then an exhausted Devils team to claim the Cup.
Overall, the product on the ice for the NHL is in the midst of a very unique phase in its history. Parity is at an all-time high. As 2012 proved, the difference between a #1 seed and a #8 seed is next to nothing. The playoffs are truly a second season in the NHL, and merely making the tournament gives any team an almost equal shot to win the Stanley Cup as the next. However, what the Los Angeles Kings proved – and teams such as the New York Rangers will need to recognize moving forward – is that a blueprint does exist to go all the way. The Kings found it at the right time. Teams like the Rangers have the pieces, and if they can achieve the blueprint during the spring of 2013, the deep playoff run they enjoyed in 2012 will go even deeper.
In the meantime, one of the most improbably post-season runs in sports post-season history is over, and the Los Angeles Kings are truly hockey royalty … an honor completely well-deserved.
Other post-season thoughts
- Zach Parise of the New Jersey Devils stated earlier this week that he would not consider joining the New York Rangers via free agency. Two responses: First, if Glen Sather is the highest bidder during a time when the NHL Salary Cap could become more restrictive, will Parise really turn the offer down? Secondly, the Rangers hardly have had good luck signing free agent forwards away from the Devils. Perhaps an omen.
- Incidentally, expect the Minnesota Wild to go all out for Parise. If Parise ends up in Minnesota, we will see further dilution of the precious few NHL superstars and a further step towards complete parity, league-wide. Is this a good thing? More information to come.
- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the rest of the league missed a golden opportunity with the Los Angeles Kings winning the Stanley Cup. The reality is that Los Angeles would possibly not exist anymore had Wayne Gretzky not been traded to the West Coast in 1988, the 2012 Stanley Cup does not happen. At some point, whatever bad blood exists between Bettman and Gretzky should have been put aside during the Stanley Cup Finals to honor the impact Gretzky had on the league’s expansion west-ward, a trend that allowed the Kings to remain viable, and allowed semifinalist Phoenix Coyotes to exist in the first place. The NHL missed a real opportunity to finally honor Gretzky properly. As the league heads towards another potential labor stoppage which would absolutely crush the image of the NHL, it is legends such as Wayne Gretzky that could help keep the hockey pulse beating. There is no better time than the present for Gretzky to be in the NHL spotlight once again.
- If an aging goaltender announces a one-year break from the game, and nobody notices, did the goaltender really take a year off? We’ll find out soon enough. Thus far, nobody, even in Boston, seems to be overly nervous that Thomas will not play during the 2012-13 season.
- Speaking of aging goaltenders, Martin Brodeur clearly has at least one more solid season left. Whether or not it will be in New Jersey is a huge question with the Devils’ major financial issues being a possible detriment to re-signing Brodeur and Parise. If Brodeur chooses to play elsewhere, there should be a series of suitors. A team like Tampa Bay could see Brodeur as the missing piece of a potential championship puzzle. The Lightning are the one team without a top-flight goaltender that could put a run to the Stanley Cup together with a player like Brodeur. The longer the Devils take to reveal whether or not they have a new part-owner, the more likely it is that Brodeur will have to play elsewhere if he will continue his career. Tampa Bay, with a deep, solid, dynamic team could be the right choice.
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