After 45 years of futility, a new team will be inscribed on the Cup. The Los Angeles Kings completed their improbable journey tonight, winning over the New Jersey Devils and hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time ever.

Unfortunately, this game probably won’t be remembered so much for the Kings finally finishing off an amazing, historical run — but for Steve Bernier delivering this hit on Rob Scuderi.

The resulting five-minute power play from this disturbing hit resulted in three goals for the Kings. Gee, maybe now that a terrible boarding has resulted in a team losing the Stanley Cup, maybe players will stop doing it.

Jeff Carter scored the second goal in the five-minute power play and then increased the lead to 4-0 early in the second period. Adam Henrique then put the Devils on the board with 1:13 left in the second. Two quick goals later in the third, and the Kings were up 6-1, which would be the final score.

Not surprisingly, Jonathan Quick was named the Conn Smythe winner as MVP of the playoffs.

Congratulations to Captain Dustin Brown and the rest of the Kings! Now maybe the Los Angeles sports media will finally get your names and logos right.

For all of your Los Angeles Kings needs, please visit The Kings and I here on Aerys Sports!

The Eastern and Western Conference Champions haven’t been decided as of yet, but we do know when they’ll be playing for the Stanley Cup. Here is the schedule for the 2012 Stanley Cup Final (all times are Eastern).

* indicates “if necessary”

• Game 1: Wednesday, May 30
  8pm on NBC/CBC/RDS
• Game 2: Saturday, June 2
  8pm on NBC/CBC/RDS
• Game 3: Monday, June 4
  8pm on NBCSN/CBC/RDS
• Game 4: Wednesday, June 6
  8pm on NBCSN/CBC /RDS
• * Game 5: Saturday, June 9
  8pm on NBC/CBC/RDS
• * Game 6:  Monday, June 11
  8pm on NBC/CBC/RDS
• * Game 7: Wednesday, June 13
  8pm on NBC/CBC/RDS

Whoever gets out of the Eastern Conference Championship alive will have home ice advantage over the Western Conference Champion, since both of their regular season point totals (Rangers had 109 points, while the Devils had 102) eclipse both point totals for whoever will come out of the West (Coyotes had 97 points, while the Kings had 95).

The Eastern Conference Champion will host Games 1 and 2 (as well as 5 and 7, if necessary), while the Western Conference Champion will host Games 3 and 4 (as well as 6, if necessary).

Well, now that we have the schedule sorted out — now all we need are the champions.

Phoenix dropped the first game in the series to Los Angeles last night 4-2, which for these teams is pretty high-scoring. And despite losing, Mike Smith still pulled a .936 SV%, better than Quick’s .926, because LA poured roughly a billion shots on the Coyotes net. Quick also gave up a frankly embarrassing goal on a shot Mikkel Boedker took from center ice.

This means two things: a) .926 is now considered mediocre for Jonny Quick (well, that and an awful goal) and b) even when Mike Smith outplays Quick, Vezina-nominee and one of the most impressive young goalies in the league, that’s not enough for the Coyotes to win.

What’s that? You want to me to mention something other than goaltending?
» Continue reading “Coyotes Lose To Kings 4-2″

I have never been so satisfied with a last-minute decision as when I volunteered to cover the Coyotes on an emergency basis. They are my beloved furballs, and they provide a lovely amount of comfort when they go out and decisively win hockey games.

I was as unhappy about the Klesla suspension as any right-thinking individual was. That is, I was pretty sure he should get a game, but I didn’t actually want him to. I wanted a Shea Weber situation, in other words. After all, it would be cruel to suspend an important part of a dominant team in a decisive game.
» Continue reading “Coyotes Beat Predators, Advance to Western Conference Finals”

The New Jersey Devils approached game four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals flying out of the gate and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2.

The Flyers seemed to have control at the start of the game scoring two quick goals off Scott Hartnell on a powerplay at 11:50 and Claude Giroux at 13:40 on a Devils powerplay.

But as the Devils have continuously proved throughout this series, they didn’t stop.  Petr Sykora responded by giving the Devils thier first goal at 15:14 and and Marek Zidlicky tied the game up at 18:09.  They outshot the Flyers 43-22 on the night.

Dainius Zubrus scored both of the Devils final goals to insure the victory for New Jersey.

Martin Brodeur saved 20 out of 22 shots.  Thought didn’t see a lot of shots on goal during the second and third periods, but when he did he was lights out.  What a way for the veteran goalie to celebrate his 40th birthday!

Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov allowed four goals on 42 shots.

Zubrus took a shot to the head from Giroux at the end of the second period.  Zubrus left to the Devils lockeroom and returned to the game in the third period.  Giroux received a penalty for an illegal check and could possibly face discipline from the league.

With the way Brendan Shanahan has been handing out suspensions, it is possible Giroux will be punished in some way.

The Devils will now look to clinch the semifinals on Flyers ice to move onto the Eastern Conference finals against either the Washington Capitals or the New York Rangers.  That  series is currently tied at two games a piece.

The Coyotes blanked the Predators on Nashville ice tonight to get a 3-1 series lead heading back to Glendale. It’s going to be tough for the Preds to fight back.

Both goalies were on top of their game tonight. Shane Doan scored in the first on a crazy fluke of a goal that appeared to bounce off defenseman Roman Josi (I linked to him because he is outrageously good-looking, how did I not know about him sooner), Rinne, and finally the goalpost. It didn’t faze Rinne, but that didn’t matter, because Mike Smith was on his game and did not let a single one through, no matter how many times every single Predator on the ice tried to dogpile him in the crease. The Preds had a few close calls, including one goal that was immediately waved off, but reviewed anyway. No dice.

As mentioned previously, Alexander “the Enigma” Radulov and Andrei “Big Tits” Kostitsyn were scratched again. This got some cheers from the Bridgestone crowd, which is bizarre because if there’s one thing the Preds could’ve used was offense, especially from the player that they, uh, shipped in from Russia purely for that reason.

There was a controversial hit in the first as Rusty Klesla shoved Keith Halischuk headfirst into the dasher in front of the Phoenix bench. Halischuk wasn’t hurt and Klesla received 2 mins for boarding. However, a similar hit on Niklas Kronwall in regular season netted Chris Stewart a 3 game suspension. So: suspensions are lighter in the postseason, but Klesla isn’t a superstar and Phoenix isn’t one of the marquee teams. I’ll concur with Harrison Mooney and guess at a 1 game suspension, which would still be a blow to the Yotes, as he’s one of their leaders in icetime on the blueline.

If Klesla isn’t Shana-banned and Trotz continues to be xenophobic (is there really a need to trot out the “enigmatic Russian” bullshit again?), the Coyotes have this in the bag. Mike Smith has gone on a hot streak and the breaks are going their way. They have a chance to close out the series in Glendale on Monday, and wouldn’t a series win on home ice be the perfect narrative conclusion?

A.K. Adams normally talks Washington Capitals over at VC Chillin’, but she can muster some begrudging affection for a Cinderella story, especially when they have the world’s nicest man, Shane Doan.

In the 20th overtime of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New Jersey Devils took a 2-1 series lead over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Alexei Ponikarovsky was sent a brilliant pass from Ilya Kovalchuk for the shot on goal.  The first shot bounced off Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and Ponikarovsky rebounded for the game winner.

The Flyers committed to a change that cost them the game.  When Kovalchuk nearly turned the puck over, the two Flyers rookies headed to the bench for a change.  It led to an open lane to Ponikarovsky, and that’s all she wrote.

The Devils were brilliant in overtime killing off two powerplays to keep them alive.  This was their fourth overtime game so far in the 2012 playoffs and they have been successful in three.  Their only overtime loss came in game one of this series.

The Flyers drew first blood when Brayden Schenn scored on a powerplay.  The Devils gained a powerplay later in the period where Patrik Elias tied the game.  Twenty seconds later Kovalchuk gave New Jersey the lead.

Matt Carle tied the game up with a goal in the second period, but Devils Captain Zach Parise netted a goal to regain the lead in the third.  That lead would not last long when Danny Briere tied the game up to keep the Flyers alive.

Kovalchuk missed game 2 of this series with a lower body injury, but provided two assists and a goal.  One of the assists was in aide for the game winner.

Devils goalie Martin Brodeur saved 25 of 28 shots on goal.  Brodeur was very shaky and the goals that the Flyers scored were too easy for them.  Luckily, the Devils had an offense on fire to keep New Jersey in the game.

The Devils will approach game 4 on Sunday looking to take a 3-1 series lead on home ice.

Hey guys! You might recognize me as responsible for the Capitals coverage! And if you know anything about the Caps, you know they went to 3 OT last night. And that maybe fans of them might not be responsible for the choices they made during that game. ANYWAY, my point is that now I will provide you with Coyotes coverage, regardless of anything else that may have happened across the league. I love the Coyotes! I have a wild soft spot for the obscure, “shouldn’t win” southern market teams, and I hate all the O-6 teams except the Leafs (but I can’t admit that or else Kat will kill me)!

Point is: things were not admirable for the Yotes, unfortch. I was rooting for them 100% except for the parts of me that couldn’t be spared for the Caps game, but they completely failed to convert. They let David “1st ever draft pick” Legwand and Mike “Mr. Underwood” Fisher get up in the first period, and never got it back. What a shame. (Anyone think Sergei “Little Tits” Kostitsyn was annoyed his brother got suspended? That was his first playoff point this season.)

Well, it’s a shame in the sense that they lost, which sucks for the Coyotes faithful. On the other hand, Mike Smith let in only 2 goals in 3 periods, on the road, in front of a desperate home crowd that was down 0-2. Hell, that he only let in 2 goals is pretty astounding (.923sv% is still pretty goddamn good). I’d lay the blame on his team for being unable to retaliate, not than his shoulders. Nashville pretty much shut down the Coyotes after the first, which is admirable, seeing as how Pekka Rinne still faced 32 shots and Mike Smith only faced 26, despite Nashville having the world class D-pairing of Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, who both had upwards of 27 minutes TOI.

Phoenix had 4 PP opportunities and Nashville had 5, but neither team managed to convert despite expending their best players on every opportunity. With both goals being scored so quickly by the Predators, this game felt more like a statement than anything: even if we suspend two players you may have considered key, we’re still a threat. Don’t get complacent. It’s a lesson that’s well to be learned around the league: there’s nothing assured in the playoffs. You can back in accidentally, or you can decimate your competition, but underneath it all, everyone’s the same. #Becauseit’sthecup!

The Coyotes lead 2-1 against the Predators. Game 4 is on Friday at 7:30 on NBCSports. Be there or be a northern market traditionalist skeptic!

A.K. Adams is the Washington Capitals reporter, which means she adores seeing rando southern teams succeed, right up until they challenge her Caps.

 

Dear Hockey Gods.

 

Hello.

 

I am here on behalf of my team the Vancouver Canucks and I am here to ask and ask politely for you to give us our game back (namely our offense and our defense and last but not least, dear Daniel Sedin.).

Thanks.

 

Now let’s get to the game.

 

Lining Up – Fun Facts

• With the loss of Byron Bitz, Coach Vigneault went ahead and made some more changes to the lineups last night. This time around, Jannik Hansen would play on the first line in place of Mason Raymond. Mason Raymond would in turn play on the third line alongside Samuel Pahlsson and Maxim Lapierre.
• Also, the Amex line was reunited (Ryan Kesler, David Booth, Chris Higgins), much to the delight of fans.
• And also to the delight of fans; the regular D-partners of Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis and Alex Edler and Sami Salo were re-united. The final D-pairing also saw Keith Ballard back to the line-up. He would play alongside Chris Tanev. Welcome back Keith Ballard!

 

The Fun Facts of the First, the Second and the Third Period

• In which Rogers Arena is filled with chants of ‘Go Canucks Go’ when the puck hasn’t even dropped yet.
• But anyways: the First Period consisted of 1 goal, 3 penalties, 21 shots on net, some LUUing and a Green Men sighting.
• LUUUUU- You get the point.
• Speaking of points, there was only 1(2) points in the first period of Game 2 and that was Kings Captain Dustin Brown’s shorthanded goal with assistance from teammate Mr. Kopitar.
• The Second Period on the other hand, consisted of 2 goals, 2 penalties, more LUUUing and 21 shots on net.
• Jannik Hansen and Dustin Brown would exchange another set of goals, that unfortunately put LA in the lead yet again with a score of 2-1.
• And the Third and Final Period consisted of more LUUUUUUs, 3 goals, 10 penalties (ugh) and 32 shots on net.
• The Nucks and the Kings also had a bit of a scrum with a good 7 minutes left in the period. Vancouver’s resident Dane nearly got himself into a fight and for that received a double minor and a 10 minute misconduct.
• LA would then score 2 more goals, in which Vancouver responded to with 1, courtesy of Samuel Pahlsson.

 

The LA Kings would go on to win the game and now lead the series 2-0.

 

Game 3 will take place in LA, tomorrow at 7:30 pm, Pacific Standard Time and I will see you all then!