Only In Hockey

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

As the NHL prepares for a potential lockout this fall, we must not forget what happened on June 11, 2012.

The Los Angeles Kings completed their improbable ride through the Stanley Cup Playoffs winning their first NHL title since the team began play in 1967. LA's first championship in its 45-year history was a 6-1 rout of the New Jersey Devils.

Over the years, I've seen teams in all sports reach the finals with records under .500, but these Los Angleles Kings made a different type of history.

One must look deep into their regular season record of 40-27-15 with 95 points.

They changed coaches and fired head coach Terry Murray, he was replaced by interim coach John Stevens, then on December 20, 2011, Darryl Sutter was named 24th head coach in franchise history.

The NHL standings are wins, losses and overtime losses. In the real world, the Kings would be 40-42.

But not for the sport that is played on a Frozen Pond.

The Kings entered the playoffs third in their division behind first place Phoenix 42-27-13 with 97 points. San Jose was 43-29-10 with 96 points.

The Kings earned their way to the Stanley Cup Finals with 10-straight road wins and 12 over two seasons which are both NHL records. LA's road winning streak ended as New Jersey defeated the Kings 2-1, on June 9, 2012.

All it takes in Hockey is a hot goaltender and Jonathan Douglas Quick, who was born on January 21, 1986 was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 26-year old native of Milford, CT, has a regular season record of 131-87 and playoff mark of 20-12, including a 16-4 mark in this years post-season.

This kid defeated No.1 seed Vancouver (51-22-9, 111), No.2 seed St.Louis (49-22-11, 109) and No.3 Phoenix, all of which were division winners. On June 28, 2012, Quick agreed in principal to a 10-year contract that will keep him in Southern California until the 2023 season.

There is no way that I will ever down play this team's success. It's hard to believe that they were the final Winter Sports LA team standing since there were high hopes for their Staples Center neighbors the Lakers and Clippers.

Before their series started with the Devils, I predicted they would leave New Jersey with a 2-0 lead and indeed, the Kings did against their No.6 seeded counterparts, who were 48-28-6 with 102 points

Los Angeles 4-2 series win against the Devils came against future Hall Of Fame Goaltender Martin Brodeur, who has led New Jersey to three Stanley Cup Titles.

The Kings win over the Devils was the first time ever that an eighth seeded team in North American Professional Sports won a championship.

Los Angeles was the second team in NHL history to beat the top three conference seeds in the playoffs.

The 2004 Calgary Flames did it under Darryl Sutter, but LA was the first eigtth seeded team to accomplish that feet. Sutter was 25-13-11 (25-24) when he took over the Kings.

But this is a sport which its storied franchise is the Montreal Canadiens.

Montreal hasn't won a championship since Jacques Demers was coach and Patrick Roy was the goaltender in 1993.

The Canadiens finished in last place in the Northeast Division with a 31-35-16, and 78 points, translating to an actual 31-51 mark. It may be awhile before Montreal wins Championship No.25.

Rival Toronto finished two points ahead of Montreal with 80, posting a 35-37-10 mark which is actually 35-47.

Montreal's record was the worst in the Eastern Conference and the third worst in the NHL.

Only the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets finished lower.

Since Montreal's last Stanley Cup Championship, the following teams have won titles: New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins. Now the Los Angeles Kings.

Ex Canadiens have figured in these teams success.

Former Montreal Coach Scotty Bowman piloted Detroit to three titles. Roy won a championship in Denver before Broncos legend John Elway won a Super Bowl in the Mile High City.

I wouldn't classify Colorado, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Carolina and Anaheim as hockey hotbeads. Nor will I consider Los Angeles as a Hockey Town.

But I will say the Kings are champions and they won their title without Hall of Fame players Wayne Gretzky and Marcel Dionne, albeit with an under .500 mark.

With the parity in the NHL, don't be surprised if the Blues, Coyotes, Florida Panthers or Nashville Predators are in the finals. Nashville's task got much tougher as the smaller market club lost many key players due to free agency.

If Montreal or Toronto get to the Stanley Cup Finals, then the ratings could be a good boom for NBC across North America.

NBC may not like it, but "Only In Hockey" can a points standings set-up produce such intrigue as we've seen year in and year out.

But, I guarantee you one thing. There will be NO ASTERISK next to the LA Kings title. They made history for all of the most unique reasons.

Now we'll see if new NHLPA Donald Fehr lets them defend their title. In 1994, under Fehr's leadership, the World Series was canclled for the first time in baseball history.

In 2004, the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning held their title for two years, but the second year it collected dust since there was no regular season.

My message to hockey fans is Fear the Fehr because the Stanley Cup Trophy could be residing in Hollywood, CA longer than a year. Enjoy It LA! You won it the hard way by being full fledged road warriors.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

Which Drought Will End?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

While this years Stanley Cup Finals may lack the star power of last years with the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins not returning for a third year in a row, there is another intriguing potential match up.

During the 1971 NHL Finals, CBS had a classic match up featuring the Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Canadiens. The announcing team was Hall of Fame Broadcaster Dan Kelly and Jim Gordon.

How many fans remember who played on both of these teams? For the Black Hawks, there was Bobby Hull, Tony Esposito and Pat Stapleton. Montreal had legends Ken Dryden, Jean Beliveau, Jacques Lemaire, Henri Richard and John Ferguson.

Montreal won this series 4-3 as Beliveau and Ferguson retired as Stanley Cup Champions in a league that had only 14 teams.

How things have changed. The NHL has more than doubled in size.

This is a year that one of the leagues Final Four will break a long championship drought. Is it possible that we could have a rematch of the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals? Could we have two Original Six teams in the Finals?

The answer to both questions is absolutely!

The Chicago Black Hawks have the longest drought 0f the Final Four. They won their last championship in 1961.

The Philadelphia Flyers last championship occurred in 1975 when the Broad Street Bullies led by Bobby Clarke, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, Rick MacLeish, Bernie Parent, Gary Dornhoefer, Bob Kelly and Bill Barber piled up penalty minutes and two championships.

It's hard to imagine that it's been since 1993 that the Montreal Canadiens won their last championship as they won their 24th Stanley Cup by defeating the Wayne Gretzky led Los Angeles Kings. The Coach of the Canadiens was former Red Wings bench boss Jacques Demers. Hall of Famer Patrick Roy was the goaltender for Montreal.

During this season, the San Jose Sharks set an NHL record for most losses in a season with 71. The Sharks had the fewest ties ever with two and had the most home losses with 32. San Jose had a 17-game losing streak and finished the year with an 11-71-2 record with 24 points.

Speaking of the Sharks, they are the top seed in this tournament and are looking for their first Stanley Cup Championship. If they make it to the finals, they have home ice advantage.

When was the last time you saw a playoff tournament the featured the top two teams meeting in one Conference Finals as we are with the Sharks and Black Hawks facing off in the West.

For that matter, when was the last time you saw the bottom two teams in a conference battling for their right to be amongst the Final Two in the East.

It will be interesting to see if the illustrious tradition of the Montreal Canadiens will be enough to give NBC big ratings. If the Flyers make it to the Finals, NBC should be fine with that major television market.

But I have to hand it to both of these teams for advancing as far as they did. The Montreal Canadiens won a pair of seven game series by ousting the Washington Capitals and Alexander Ovechkin along with the defending champions Pittsburgh Penguins led by Sidney Crosby.

The Flyers earned there way by eliminating the New Jersey Devils and future Hall of Fame Goaltender Martin Brodeur. Then Philadelphia did the unthinkable by overcoming a 3-0 series deficit and a 3-0 margin in the seventh game to rekindle the Boston Massacre of the Bruins faithful.

With the Flyers and Canadiens being the seventh and eighth seeds in their conferences, they're playing on house money. Nobody expects them to do anything. The underdog role could suit either organization just fine when one of these squads gets to the finals.

The Flyers fans have to be thrilled at what they accomplished and certainly validated Yogi Berra's saying that "It's not over until it's over." The Boston Bruins know it now and will not forget this blown opportunity to snap their drought which dates back to the 1971-72 season when they defeated the New York Rangers.

If Chicago wins the Stanley Cup, NBC announcer Ed Olczyk will receive a championship ring because he is the Black Hawks regular color commentator. I still have a feeling he'll show professionalism and be as neutral as possible working with his seasoned pro partner Mike Emrick.

But if the Black Hawks do win the Stanley Cup, I can just imagine how much more pressure will be on the Chicago Cubs to win a title in a drought that has lasted over 100 years.

Meanwhile, the NHL could receive a boost if the Sharks win the Stanley Cup by bringing a championship to the San Francisco Bay area. There could be no better publicity then to grow the game than in Northern California. If the Sharks beat Montreal, it would only enhance their championship by defeating this legendary Original Six Team.

With three major USA Media Markets, and the most storied franchise in NHL history, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

I'd personally like to see the Black Hawks and Canadiens face off again in the Stanley Cup Finals with the Windy City emerging as champions. But if Montreal does win the Stanley Cup, they will have earned it by beating the best competition out there. For an eighth seed to win a title, this would be quite an accomplishment.

More importantly, in this calender year, if Montreal wins it's 25 Stanley Cup, they will only trail the New York Yankees by two titles since the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 to win their 27 championship. These sleeping giants will have awoken.

Lets drop the puck, let the intrigue begin as we find out how high or low the ratings are plus which drought will end?

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be read at www.scottsports33.com.