Hamden native Jonathan Quick hoists the Stanley Cup for the Los Angeles Kings
Wriiten by Dan Zumpano |
The Los Angeles Kings have been in the National Hockey League since 1967. They have lived through getting a new arena, the glory years of having the greatest hockey player ever, Wayne Gretzky, on their team, and being surrounded by a Los Angeles fan base that never appreciated them. Through all those years, the Kings still could not bring a Stanley Cup Championship to the city. In 1993 the Kings made it to the Stanley Cup finals but were heartbroken when they lost to the Montreal Canadians. Thus it seemed that the Kings would never be the kings of the hockey world.
This was the thought of many on Monday night when Los Angeles played the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, just one game away from erasing years of frustration. The Kings reached the Stanley Cup Finals as the 8th seeded team in the Western Conference, something that had only been duplicated once before in the history of hockey (the 2006 Edmonton Oilers). The Kings had a series lead of three games to none over the Devils, but New Jersey had stormed back to win two games and were poised and confident to do it a third time. What happened next shocked the hockey world.
The Kings Offense and defense were out of this world in Game 6. Hamden, Connecticut native Jonathan Quick was outstanding in goal, recording 17 saves. The Los Angeles offense came out of the gates and exploded for 3 goals in the first period. Dustin Brown, Jeff Cater and Trevor Lewis each scored in the first. Carter would add on a second goal in the second period and Lewis would do the same in the third period. An empty net goal in the end of the game by Matt Greene would cap off the 6 to 1 victory, and the Kings were finally Stanley Cup Champions. The Kings became the first team in NHL history to win a championship under three different head coaches in the same year. Head Coach Darryl Sutter was ecstatic about the victory and is already looking forward to next year and defending his title. After years of ups and downs for this franchise, Los Angeles is finally king of the hockey world.
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