Why Los Angeles Kings will win the Stanley Cup –NHL Special
Los Angeles Kings are heading into their third straight playoff series, but unlike last year, this time, the Californian team is well prepared and confident going up against Vancouver Canucks in the opening quarterfinal round.
With some changes in the line-up consisting of new additions and players who have revitalised their game, Los Angeles is looking up high after a well played 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season.
Kings should be proud of the fact that they ended off the regular season win a better record than eight Western Conference teams and clubs like Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators. They finished by securing the eighth number spot with 95 points and were
only one away from tying San Jose Sharks for the seventh.
For the Kings, they are right where they want to be and that is going up against Vancouver.
"It's where we want to be. We get a chance to play Vancouver," Kings centre, Jarret Stoll, said. "We're looking forward to it. We play well against them and we play well in their building. We feel like we're a good team too, like we're right there."
Now that Los Angeles is back in the playoffs for three years running, what will be the factor that will eventually lead them to the most coveted prize in hockey history? Well, there are a lot of factors that just might work for Los Angeles like their goaltending
and offensive pushing abilities.
Without a doubt, Kings have some of the best goaltending in the major league in the name of Jonathan Quick, their young goalie who has managed to keep on getting better with age.
When you are going up against teams that know how to score goals, having a goalie that has one of lowest goals against averages, 1.95 in this case with Quick, is the best way to go and luckily, Los Angeles does have that check off their list. Quick also
has a 0.929 save percentage which is another plus and being a goalie that chokes a lot less than Roberto Luongo, he will definitely be a leading factor for Los Angeles.
"Los Angeles is a tough team. They are a well-structured team that loves to play a defensive type of game," Vancouver head coach, Alain Vigneault, said. "They are real dedicated to their system, and they've gotten some great goaltending."
Having a strong defensive line-up is also another aspect that will propel Los Angeles in the postseason. Drew Doughty is certainly one of the best and is ranked up there easily with other defenders like Shea Weber of Nashville Predators and staying strong
in front of the net along with scoring goals will be crucial to their survival throughout.
One thing that could hurt Los Angeles in the long run will be some hold-ups that Quick has had during the season. He nearly lost half of his starts during the hockey year and if such bad luck comes upon him again, Kings could be facing some trouble.
Now that Los Angeles also has Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, both which were some quick moving forwards back with Philadelphia, Kings can stay assured that these two along with Anze Kopitar will keep the scoring department in their favour.
Seeing Los Angeles Kings make a run for the Stanley Cup will definitely not be surprising seeing their abilities to do so, making these playoff series one of the most exciting yet.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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