Stanley Cup Final Preview

Well, I am late in doing this blog, I know, seeing as it is being posted right before the start of game number one. This is not the match up the NHL had in mind when it saw the Conference Final match ups. But, it got at least one team it wanted in Los Angeles, seeing as how it is the second biggest market in the league. Of course, New York is tops. Granted, New Jersey does play in Newark, which is in the New York metropolitan market. But, the Devils don't have the same name cache as the New York Rangers do, with whom they dispatched in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, the Devils are also an older team, with having played 100 games already this season, with the postseason and the regular season combined. Plus, they have an old goalie in Marty Brodeur, but Brodeur has played lights out this postseason. Then, the Kings have played even more lights out. They have essentially been playing playoff hockey since the middle of February, as they were way out of the playoff race, then have stormed back and made the playoffs as the eight seed in the West. The Kings then had to face in consecutive rounds, the top 3 seeds in the Western Conference, due to the NHL's quirky playoff bracket system.
And, the NHL's bracket system in the playoffs is fairly simple, as instead of have the 1/8 match up facing the winner of the 4/5 match up, it just goes as follows: the lowest seeded team remaining faces the highest remaining seed remaining. And next highest faces next lowest seed. So, that is how the Kings have faced the number one seed and runner up to the President's Trophy Vancouver Canucks in the first round. Then the surprising St. Louis Blues in the second round, and the equally surprising Phoenix Coyotes in the conference final round. The Devils had a tougher road many would argue. As they had a relatively easy match up in the first round with the weakest division champion in the Florida Panthers, who really gave them a fight in the first round, going the entire seven games. New Jersey then had to face Atlantic Division foes in the next two rounds, dueling the hated Flyers and Rangers.
Now, I'm going with the Kings here because of three reasons. The first being that they have been playing essentially playoff hockey since the middle of February, and they've only had to go two over the minimum as far as games played in the playoffs. The second, is because I hate the Devils. Who wants to root for a team name which is rooting for evil? Finally, the Kings have two prominent former Flyers in the former captain, Mike Richards as well as his linemate in Philly Jeff Carter, and that synergy has helped plenty in the playoffs. Plus, you always go with the hottest goaltender in the Stanley Cup Final, and that goalie is Jonathan Quick, who happened to come through Reading, PA in his journey to the big time in Los Angeles.

Pick: Kings in 6.

P.S., the NBA will wait until the conference finals are over, and I will just preview the NBA Finals.