Hail to the Kings!

Okay, let me first say, I am, and always will be first and foremost a San Jose Sharks fan.

However...don't 'cha love that word however? My boys in teal were knocked out of the playoffs this postseason. I had to pick a team to cheer on because I love ice hockey and just HAD TO WATCH to playoffs, no matter what. So, I went with the Los Angles Kings because I wasn't very fond of the remaining Western Conference Teams and I wanted the Cup to be won by a Western Conference team.

In a way, it was poetic. The teams are connected in a weird sort of way. The last two regular season games played by LA were against San Jose. The Sharks won both games.The Kings are coached by Darryl Sutter, an ex-San Jose coach. The King's General Manager is Dean Lombardi, the ex-GM of San Jose...hmm, I see a trend here.

LA won the first three games. Then New Jersey took the next two. This game was at Los Angles, and the crowd was insane - sign, yelling & screaming, and the team came out ready. The LA Kings scored three power-play goals (Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, and Trevor Lewis) in the first period, setting the home crowd on fire. In the second period, two more goals, one by the Kings (Jeff Carter) and one by the New Jersey Devils (Adam Henrique) made the scoreboard 4-1. In the third, LA added two more goals, an empty-netter (Trevor Lewis) and one final spirit-breaking goal to end the game at 6-1 (Matt Greene). The fans exploded with cheers.

The after game handshakes took place rather quickly as the stadium staff set up for the trophy presentations. As expected, Jonathan Quick was MVP. The goalie deserved that honor for his outstanding play during the playoffs. Then the Stanley Cup was brought out and Bettman made the speech (blessedly short) before handing it over to Captain Dustin Brown.

Now we know who picks last in the June 22nd draft. I don't think LA will mind at all. The first Stanley Cup in the team's history, won in front of the home ice crowd. Victory has never smelled as sweet.

Congrats to the Los Angeles Kings.

Stay Safe out there