My buddy Daniel and I had a routine everyday. We got home from school. We played street hockey until it got dark, then we ran to Foster's donuts for a snack, ran back home to watch Saved by the Bell and Dial MTV (I didn't say we weren't dorks). Oh, I forgot, we also watched almost EVERY hockey game that year. Not just every hockey game that year, but almost every second of every game.
I have a few very distinct memories from that playoff run. 1.) Gretzky scoring a hat trick against the Doug Gilmore/Wendell Clark led Toronto Maple Leafs in game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. 2.) The Kings played only Canadian teams that year in the playoffs. 3.) Gretzky scored an AMAZING empty net goal against Montreal in the first game of the Finals. 4.) Marty McSorley got busted for having an illegal stick with just a couple minutes left in game 2. The Kings were ahead 2-1. The Canadiens scored on the ensuing power play, then again in overtime to tie the series. The Kings NEVER recovered. 5.) John LeClair destroying the Kings. 6.) Patrick Roy was a beast...that the Kings couldn't overcome!
This year's run is a little different for me. I don't know all of the Kings yet. I re-kindled my love for the Kings a few years ago, so I know a few. Drew Doughty is my favorite. Dustin Brown is the heart and soul of the team, the Robitaille of '93. Kopitar is the leading scorer, the Gretzky role...although he is nowhere near the superstar that Gretz was! Quick holds the role of Hrudey, and quite frankly is way better at it than Kelly. But, beyond that...I don't know these guys.
As I try to determine who is going to win, I usually look at history. I look at goals against versus goals for. I would examine the records of the two teams and try to determine which team has an edge.I would pour over stats and create a spreadsheet that would predict the winner. However, this year is a little different. As little as I know about the Kings, I know less about the New Jersey Devils. I know Marty Brodeur! I know Ilya Kovalchuk (I wanted him to be a King SO bad when he was a free agent a couple years ago!!!). I remember Patrick Elias, but he is from the tail end of my hockey obsession. So this year, I have to go with my gut, my heart, to make any sort of pick!
As little as I know about the Kings, one thing I do know is that Bob Miller and Jim Fox are the best! I cannot stand listening to the network broadcasters. I know there must be some broadcaster code that says you can't bash anyone in the fraternity, but all of the broadcasters talking about how "great" Mike Emrick is, well it is just laughable! He literally sounds to me like a guy who has never watched hockey before. He reads the last names of the players like a child pronouncing a word that they do not know. He makes constant mistakes. If I have to listen to him mispronounce names like Daymond Langkow for another series I may have to turn the sound off! I did hear a rumor that the Kings are going to have Miller and Fox announce the games, so fans can buy them after the fact as a souvenir. I truly hope this is true! Miller and Fox are amazing. Miller is the lesser known of the Los Angeles triumvirate of sports announcers (alongside Vin Scully and Chick Hearn, please don't say Ralph Lawler to me...BINGO!), but that doesn't mean he is any less of a hall of famer!
Therefore, based on my eyeball test (I have watched somewhere between 6 and 10 kings games this postseason, but I've watch no Devils games...so this makes this a complete homer pick!), I am going with the Kings in 6 games! For this reason only, I hope the Stanley Cup Finals provide a little better hockey than the previous 3 rounds!
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