Book the flights to Chicago. The Kings get a rematch in the Western Conference Finals with the Blackhawks after jumping all over the Anaheim Ducks in a 6-2 rout at Honda Center in Game 7 of the Divisional Finals.
The Kings were sharp early and absolutely buried the Ducks with three first period goals. They followed it up with two second period goals to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Ducks could answer. Despite Anaheim making it interesting with a late goal in the second and an early goal in the third, the game was realistically out of hand the minute the second period ended.
The big players were here to play for the Kings yet again, as Kopitar, Carter, Richards, Gaborik, and Justin Williams all scored for the Kings. Also scoring in the contest was young Tanner Pearson, a player who I personally feel has come of age in these playoffs.
Justin Williams continues to grow as a Game 7 legend, as his goal and assist tonight gives him a grand total of 12 points in six Game 7's. Wait...he has how many points in Game 7's??
You read that right, yes, Justin Williams averages two points for every Game 7 he plays in. He got the scoring started for the Kings and poetically notched an assist on the final goal of the game.
Mike Richards played arguably his best game of the postseason, surpassing his strong Game 7 performance against San Jose. He was rewarded with a goal and an assist on the night.
Kopitar at this point has to be the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe if the Kings make the finals. No. 11 entered tonight's game with a postseason leading 17 points and added another goal and assist to that total. He has recorded points in every single playoffs game for the Kings this year except for Game 4 of the Ducks series.
Speaking of top of the league, Marian Gaborik scored his ninth goal of the playoffs. If Dean Lombardi isn't planning on negotiating an extension with him the day after the playoffs end I will seriously have to question his sanity. He has been incredible. I think the conversation between Lombardi and Gaborik will go something like this maybe...
Quick was as feisty and effective as ever, making several big stops early including two that were potentially game changing. Corey Perry was stopped on a penalty shot and later a breakaway to preserve the slim lead of the Los Angeles Kings in the early goings.
Quite simply, everyone came to play. All the names in which I just mentioned are amongst the highest paid players on the roster. Gaborik, Kopitar, Carter, Richards, Quick...at the end of the day the Kings came to play and the Ducks, well, didn't. The drive was there from puck drop, and aside from a dicey few minutes in the 3rd period where the Ducks were forechecking like animals, it was all LA. The faceoffs were overwhelmingly in the favor of the Kings, the blocked shots as well, the scoring chances, and obviously the score.
This series has been one I have been somewhat disappointed with in terms of quality. However, the last three games were strong performances. In Game 5 the Ducks were clearly able to implement a game plan and get the Kings out of it early. In Game 6 the two teams fought tooth and nail to get their strategy to overtake the opponents. Finally, in Game 7 it was the Kings who were able to implement an overpowering game on a shell shocked looking Anaheim team. The Ducks are going to walk away from this series feeling fairly disappointed considering they lost three games of four games on home ice. Very tough pill to swallow. Credit them for making a series of it after losing the first two. Tough series, a tight series, and one that was a good jumping off point for what could maybe be an ACTUAL rivalry now.
You have to feel for Teemu Selanne also, who is a living legend. The iconic Finn hangs 'em up with nothing to be ashamed about, even though the career ends with a loss and not a win. In terms of the Ducks you have to give credit to John Gibson, who really is a star in the making. Unfortunately he got a taste of what Game 7 glory can be like in a bad way. Ryan Getzlaf was also tremendous. The Ducks tend to go the way of Getzlaf and Perry. If those two aren't involved, there isn't much happening. I was also impressed with Sami Vatanen and Devante Smith-Pelley who had strong series performances.
Overall the Kings got several really strong series performances from unlikely places. Jake Muzzin was fantastic in the latter half of the series, same with Jeff Schultz. Schultz has filled in quite admirably for the depleted King blue line, and his contributions shouldn't be overlooked. I've already mentioned the youngster Tanner Pearson, who has been an incredibly strong contributor. He and Toffoli have been somewhat similar to that of Dwight King and Jordan Nolan from the Kings previous cup run.
At the end of the day you can't overlook the performances of the big boys. Gaborik walks away from the series with 6 goals, 4 assists, and 10 points over the 7-game series against Anaheim. He almost certainly wins the series MVP in my eyes, although Anze Kopitar again was out of this world, and notched nine points. (1-8=9)
Although Doughty wraps up the series with only two points, he was still a huge match up factor and was eating nearly 30 minutes a night on a regular basis.
Who was your series MVP?
A special shoutout has to go to all the Kings fans who made the trip to Honda Center for the games. They were loud and at times overshadowed the Ducks fans. Clear "Go Kings Go!" chants and goalie taunts were clearly audible in the opponents buildings. Well done, you guys.
Next up comes a rematch with the Blackhawks, who wiped out an injury-riddled Kings a year ago in five games. Chicago will pose an incredibly difficult test, but the series should be fun.
I'm sure the NHL is doing cartwheels right now. New York, Chicago, and L.A. make up three of the largest TV audiences out there, and then throw in Montreal which is the biggest Canadian market. Should make for some fantastic hockey to boot.
We start up right away. Sunday at Noon PST and 3 EST.
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