2012 Stanley Cup Playoff Review - (6) New Jersey Devils vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings

Series Summary

In the beginning it seemed like the series would be a close one. The first two games in New Jersey basically went the same way (Kings score first, Devils eventually tie it up on a deflection, Kings win in overtime). Game 3 is when it seemed like the series was over, as the Kings just dominated the Devils, beating them to take a 3-0 series lead. While everyone expected a sweep, New Jersey had other plans. After trading goals in Game 4, Henrique put one over the arm of Quick, which was all the Devils needed to avoid the sweep. The Devils comeback continued in Game 5. Parise opened the scoring for the Devils when Quick misplayed the puck, then Williams tied it up in the second period. Voynov scored his second for the Devils this series Salvador scored the game winning goal for the Devils. Game 6 was thought to be a close, tense game...then Rob Scuderi turned his back and Steve Bernier leveled him against the board, got a 5 minute major, ejected, and the Kings scored 3 times during the powerplay to end the series. The Devils were completely deflated after that and only mustered one goal after being down 4-0. The Los Angeles Kings won the game 6-1 and were crowned the 2012 Stanley Cup Champions.

Games

Los Angeles Kings 2 (OT)
New Jersey Devils 1

Los Angeles Kings 2 (OT)
New Jersey Devils 1

New Jersey Devils 0
Los Angeles Kings 4

New Jersey Devils 3
Los Angeles Kings 1

Los Angeles Kings 1
New Jersey Devils 2

New Jersey Devils 1
Los Angeles Kings 6

Three Thoughts About The Series

• Doing...uh..."research" about Taylor Stevens. Found out she's only a year older than me.
• I listened to WTMW for one period. It wasn't that bad. Then again, I was subjected to the atrocious commentary (the actual play-by-play) during the World Championships. So there's that.
• After the Bernier hit, I think there is something to be said about introducing a penalty to the victim of those hits. If you turn your back as a last-second tactic, you kind of deserve more than just any pain that comes from it. Funny enough, adding a penalty for that kind of behaviour would deter players from doing that and make the game safer (and smarter).  

Pictures Of The Series

There were too many good pictures to chose from, here are my top 3

After his interview, Rex told Elliotte Friedman to get him a GOD DAMN SNACK!

Kudos to the Kings Mascot for this taunt.

Peter Deboer: The Most Focused Man In The World

Plays Of The Series

Kopitar with the goal of the series:

And Scuderi with the (smartest/dumbest) play of the series:

Prediction Results

MDK: 7-8

BEK: 8-7