To live and die in L.A.

• Author: Barrett, Wayne M.
• Position: SPORTS SCENE - Los Angeles Kings

INEVITABILITY ONLY CAN BE CONFIRMED in retrospect. That the Los Angeles Kings were destined to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history (since joining the NHL in 1967 as part of the Expansion Six) seems obvious at this point, with only the New Jersey Devils serving as any sort of bump in the road--and a minor one at that--as the new champions of the hockey world blew through the post-season in impressive fashion. Only the fabled 1988 Oilers, led by The Great Gretzky, in his final season in Edmonton, proved more dominant in the last quarter-century.

The Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead in all four series. They won a Stanley Cup record 10 straight on the road before finally being blemished by the Devils in Game 5. To reach the Finals, L.A. knocked off the Western Conference's No. 1 seed, the Vancouver Canucks, last year's Stanley Cup Finalist, in five games; the second-seeded St. Louis Blues in a sweep, and the No. 3 seed, the Phoenix Coyotes, also in five games. All this from a club that had to play lights out down the stretch of the regular season just to slip into the post-season's final slot.

History was kinder to Los Angeles in their second-ever trip to the Cup Finals. In 1993, they lost in five--including three straight overtime defeats--to the Montreal Canadiens, the Habs' record 24th championship. This time around. The Kings became the first No. 8 seed ever to capture the Cup. They opened against the Devils with a pair of 2-1 overtime victories at New Jersey's home base, the Prudential Center in Newark (the Rock), playing host to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in its brief history. The Devils' other final-round appearances (1995 vs. the Detroit Red Wings, 2000 vs. the Dallas Stars, 2001 vs. the Colorado Avalanche, and 2003 vs. the Anaheim Mighty Ducks), which included three Cup victories (all except 2001), were at the Brendan Byrne Arena in The Meadowlands, just a short skip down the N.J. Turnpike.

Back on the West Coast, the Kings, bolstered by goalie Jonathan Quick (ultimately the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff MVP) took command of the series with a 4-0 shutout in Game 3. Now it was up to the Devils, led by 40-year-old record-setting goalie Martin Brodeur and rookie sensation Adam Henrique, to try to accomplish what had been done only once before--overcome a 0-3 deficit in the Finals. (The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled it off against the Red Wings in 1942.) It was not to be. Henrique scored the game-winner in...