LA Kings beat New Jersey Devils in Game 6 to Capture Franchises 1st Stanley Cup - Polidicks

[quote]LOS ANGELES -- It was worth the wait. After 45 long years, including two near-misses in the last week, the Los Angeles Kings have finally been crowned Stanley Cup champions. The party kicked off before the first period even ended as Los Angeles romped to a 6-1 series-clinching victory over the stunned New Jersey Devils. The game turned on a penalty that should erase Marty McSorley's 1993 illegal stick call as the most memorable in Kings history. Devils forward Steve Bernier was given a five-minute major for boarding just over 10 minutes into the game after bloodying Rob Scuderi with a hard hit from behind, and Los Angeles made him pay. First captain Dustin Brown got a puck behind Martin Brodeur. Then Jeff Carter followed. By the time Trevor Lewis made it 3-0 at 15:01, the Staples Center crowd knew the Kings had all the goals they needed. After all, Jonathan Quick didn't allow more than that in any game during a dominant 16-4 run through this post-season. The Devils were the first team since 1945 to even force a Game 6 in the Stanley Cup final after trailing 3-0 in the series, and the clincher highlighted why the task of coming all the way back is so daunting. There's no room for bad bounces or bad luck. New Jersey was it where it wanted to be after weathering an early storm and killing off a minor penalty. And then Bernier crashed into Scuderi. The most difficult part of that penalty for the Devils was the fact it came just seconds after Jarrett Stoll had hit Stephen Gionta from behind without a call. Series over. The Devils were shaken and their hopes of forcing a Game 7 were soon shattered. It's extremely rare to see a team score three times on a major penalty, especially against a New Jersey penalty kill that was the NHL's best in the regular season at 89.6 per cent. They couldn't maintain that level in the playoffs. Carter added another goal in the second period while Adam Henrique got the Devils on the board just over a minute before the intermission. However, there was no doubting the outcome as the final 20 minutes ticked away and resignation started to settle in on the New Jersey bench. As the big moment approached, Cup keepers Craig Campbell and Phil Pritchard stood in the bowels of Staples Center and readied themselves for action as the crowd above them alternated between derisive chants of "Maaaaarrrtty!" and "We want the Cup!" And the roar built steadily as the scoreboard neared zero. The roof nearly came off when Lewis hit an empty net at 16:15 and Matt Greene beat Brodeur over the glove just 15 seconds later. All that was left was for Brown to take centre stage. When the captain finally accepted the Stanley Cup from commissioner Gary Bettman and hoisted it in the air, it provided a fitting scene -- he was one of the young players the Kings decided to build around when they were mired in a stretch of eight straight years out of the playoffs from 2002 to 2009. After all, general manager Dean Lombardi sold long-suffering fans on the idea of a complete rebuild when he was hired in 2006 and had this kind of night in mind. There were plenty of days where it seemed like it would never happen. The trade for Mike Richards last summer, the decision to replace coach Terry Murray with Darryl Sutter in December and the acquisition of Carter at the trade deadline was enough to put the Kings over the top. After finishing as the eighth seed in the Western Conference, they found another level during a spring that won't soon be forgotten in Southern California. Staples Center was the place to be in Los Angeles once again this June -- and this time it wasn't because of the Lakers. David Beckham, Larry David and Matthew Perry were among the slew of famous faces among the towel-waving crowd, not to mention a long list of Kings alumni. The Kings have come a long way from the days of garish purple and yellow uniforms. They finally have their Stanley Cup, fittingly following the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 as the last two teams to clinch one on home ice. What a party. [/quote] [url]http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=398187[/url]

Now can we let a Canadian team win for once next season?

I know a lot of guys who are disappointed right now

Solid run by the Kings.

-snip, I keep on thinking about the basketball riot 2 years ago-

As a Flyers' fan, I'm happy to see Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Simon Gagne win a championship. Though I'm sad to see them winning it with a different team.

that'll show those cocky Devils fans

:( Devils.

Devil's would've had a fighting chance in this last game if it hadn't been for that call that lasted for five minutes and gave them three goals.

When Greene snipes it in, you know it's over. Gotta give it to the Devils though, they put up one hell of a fight. They can be very happy with themselves, it's a performance that will win the cup next time round.

Brad thinks the Kings suck and wouldn't win, so I told him to fuck off, and we won!

[QUOTE=Trooper0315;36295481]LA reaction to home team losing: rioting LA reaction to home team winning: more rioting I am getting really tired of these people.[/QUOTE] Please tell me who is rioting.

Awesome series. I wish the penalty at the beginning hadn't happened so it would have been a more even match, but it was still cool to see the Stanley Cup won at home. I hope Brodeur comes back next season.

fuck i was hoping the canucks would win

[QUOTE=Taepodong-2;36295372]Now can we let a Canadian team win for once next season?[/QUOTE] [highlight]GO 'NUCKS GO!!![/highlight]