Do you know about the L.A. Kings?

I was under the impression that the NHL season ended three weeks ago.  But apparently it's still going, and there is a crazy story brewing in Los Angeles.  The Kings 2-1 victory last night over the Phoenix Coyotes (yes, it's L.A. vs Phoenix for the Western Conference title; in hockey, not basketball) put them on the verge of the Stanley Cup Finals with a 3-0 series lead.  L.A. has won 8 straight games, and is a spectacular 11-1 in the playoffs so far.  Led by their suddenly untouchable goalie Jonathan Quick, the Kings have yet to give up more than two goals in a single post season game.  All of these numbers are pretty remarkable on their own, but here's the kicker: L.A. is the #8 seed.  That's right, the last team in the conference to make the playoffs.  And they have absolutely dominated.

This helps confirm two things I believe about hockey: One, as soon as the NHL playoffs begin, it's an absolute crap shoot who wins.  And two, the only thing that really matters is a hot goalie.  Having said that, I'm kind of a fan of the L.A. Kings.  Back when I used to play NHL '94 for Super Nintendo with my buddies in high school, they we're my team.  But not cause of Gretzky, I liked Luc Robitaille, who's now their team President.  I thought I'd written something about NHL '94 in the past, but I can't seem to find it in my archives.  Anyway, it's one of the greatest video games of all time, and definitely worth a blog of it's own in the future.

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