Stanley Cup Finals Preview: Kings vs. Devils

        If you claim to have called this matchup, your probably lying. On Friday night, Devils center Adam Henrique scored the Game 6 overtime winner that would send the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals to play against the Los Angeles Kings. This is the first time that two bottom four seeds are playing in the Stanley Cup Finals, but these teams have not been playing like bottom four seeds. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, who has won three Stanley Cups, will face off against Vezina Trophy finalist Jonathan Quick in the nets. Knowing these two goaltenders, they are going to put on quite a show. Both of these teams have plenty of depth, with the Devils having the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, Adam Henrique, and captain Zach Parise. The Kings are led by captain Dustin Brown, with Mike Richards, Anze Kopitar, and Jeff Carter. These teams are incredibly talented, shown by the players that they have. In this post, I will explain what both teams need to do in order to win, and in the end, I will make my pick for the winner of the Stanley Cup.

New Jersey Devils

        This Devils team is not the defensive powerhouse that won three Stanley Cups from 1995 to 2003. This is a completely different animal. Ilya Kovalchuk, who was fifth in league scoring this regular season and leads playoff scoring, will have to continue his offensive excellence in the Finals. The Devils' forecheck will also have to be as dominant as the were in the series against the Philadelphia Flyers. Their fourth line, consisting of Stephen Gionta, Ryan Carter, and Steve Bernier, will have to lead the way on the forechecking front. And let's not forget about the legendary Martin Brodeur. The 40-year old net minder will have to steal the show, like he has done all throughout the playoffs. Brodeur will have to be even better than years past, as he doesn't have the all-star defense in front of him that he once had. 

Los Angeles Kings

        The Kings have been dominant all post season long. If there is one thing they need to do to win the Stanley Cup it will be this: keep doing what ever they're doing. They've been road warriors all playoffs, not losing a single away game so far. Fortunately for them, they do not have home ice in this series either. A big part of winning those games is Jonathan Quick. Because the Kings have difficulty scoring goals, that makes Quick's job that much more important, as it is difficult to guarantee that the Kings will score more than two goals in a game. He will need to be perfect, or close to it, in this series. The Kings will need there key players, Brown, Kopitar, Richards, and Carter to contribute offensively if the Kings have any chance at winning the series. Also, the Kings will need Dustin Brown to get under the Devils' skin and draw penalties, which is one of his specialties. Dustin Brown will need to play on the edge, as he has done throughout his entire career.

My Pick

        I'm going with the Devils in six games, as their offensive power might be too much for the low-scoring Kings team. Defense does win games, but in hockey, the team that scores more goals wins the game. The Kings just don't have the enough goal-scoring to beat the Devils. I also believe that Martin Brodeur has one more Cup left in him. He has a different kind of motivation as opposed to Quick. This is probably Brodeur's last major playoff run. He knows that, and he wants to make it to the top of the mountain one more time before he retires. And I believe he will do just that.