St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings Series Preview -NHL Playoffs Special
St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings have come a long way as both have taken down some big name teams to now be in the second round of the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Western Conference Playoffs.
Blues eliminated San Jose Sharks in a wild, 4-1, series. A team that made the Western Conference Finals for the past two year’s consecutively was downed by a club that failed miserably last year and have now turned around in every aspect.
Los Angeles on the other hand, took their first ever series win and that too against the previous Stanley Cup Finalists, the Vancouver Canucks. Kings eliminated the top Western Conference and NHL team in five games, allowing them to overcome a major hurdle
on their way to the cup.
What the St. Louis and Los Angeles series will have in store is basically an equal matchup in nearly all aspects, making it even more exciting as both teams have immense capability at all ends.
St. Louis Blues love taking advantage of power play opportunities while Los Angeles Kings have some of the best penalty killing players in the league. Blues and Kings will have to keep their penalties on the down low as either have the capacity to get some
quick goals when one of the players goes to that penalty box.
It will also be a battle of the coaches. Ken Hitchcock from the Blues side while Darryl Sutter on the Los Angeles end. Both coaches have vast experience in the field of hockey and have revolutionised their team this past season.
The great thing about Los Angeles is that they have a spectacular mix of offensive shooting power along with Drew Doughty on the defensive end. St. Louis is also a great defensive team but their shooting is no match compared to the Kings.
Goalies from both sides will be the deciding factors in the game as Kings have relied on Jonathan Quick so far to limit the Vancouver shooting while Blues have Brian Elliott blocking the net. What St. Louis has in this regard is an even better backup, Jaroslav
Halak, who will not be playing the first two games but is expected to make an entry later on.
If St. Louis gets going on Quick, Los Angeles does not have any option but keeping him in the net while Blues can play around in that department if needed.
In the end, while both teams stand strong in terms of goaltending and defence, the shooting will in turn decide the fate of the series. Which player turns out to score more will allow his team to win.
Prediction:
Los Angeles Kings will take the series in a Game 7 win.
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