Stanley Cup Preview

Alright, so it doesn't quite have the flair of Bruins-Canucks from a year ago. I'd like to think that one was an all-time great, a series that could captivate audiences from coast to coast. And north of the border, of course. A team that had never won the Cup from Canada, up against an Original Six team that hadn't raised it in 39 years. Additionally, the Canucks were the President's Trophy winners (and therefore a 1 seed out West), while the Bruins had at least won their division (as the 3 seed).

This year, the Devils won the East as a 6 seed, while the Kings upended the Western picture as the 8 seed. To the pink hat novice hockey fan, this one may seem like a fluke, a snoozer.

Far from it.

Everyone who knows the most minuscule amount about hockey knows who plays goalie for the New Jersey Devils: Martin Brodeur. In his 18th season, the NHL's all-time winningest goalie remains in elite form. The Devils got to this point thanks in large part to Marty, who's gone 12-5 during the post-season with a 2.04 goals against average (GAA) and a .923 save percentage (SV%). Brodeur has already won 3 Stanley Cups in his career, but none since 2003. For what it's worth, Brodeur has never won the Conn Smythe award as the MVP of the playoffs during the Devils' Cup runs. His numbers are more than qualified for such an honor this time around, should the Devils prevail.

The Devils also feature Ilya Kovalchuk, who's in just the second year of a 15-year, $100 contract he signed with New Jersey prior to the 2010-11 season. The former 50-goal scorer with the Atlanta Thrashers struggled mightily his first season in the Garden State, particularly in the season's first half. He finished up with 31 goals and 29 assists for 60 points, a far cry from his 91 points in 2008-09, his final full season in Atlanta. Kovy rebounded nicely this year, putting up 37-46-83 totals, especially remarkable considering the Devils defensive-minded system. In other words, the contract doesn't look quite as much of a bummer as the 15 year pact signed by Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro back in 2006.

Across the coast, the Kings have plenty of star power fit for their LA location. "Flyers West", they've been hailed, as prominent former Philadelphia players Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, among others, now call SoCal home. Richards has spent the entire season with Los Angeles; Carter moved there at the trade deadline, via Columbus. Richards recorded just 44 points this year (18-26-44), his lowest since 2007. Carter, who played 39 games in the hockey purgatory that is Columbus (plus 16 with LA) produced just 36 points, the lowest of his career. The two players are forever linked, as they were each drafted by the Flyers in the 1st round of the historic 2003 NHL draft (featuring former King/Hingham native Brian Boyle, for what it's worth). The pair has put up a combined 20 points through the Kings 14 playoff games so far. Not exactly setting the world on fire, but when you have Jon Quick between the pipes....

....remember Tim Thomas during last year's Stanley Cup run? You know, the 1.98 GAA and .940 SV%? (Cue up the Bachman-Turner Overdrive....) You ain't seen nothin' yet. Quick, through 13 post-season contests, is 12-2 with a 1.54 GAA and a .946 SV%. Numbers so gaudy, he could be in a position to win the Conn Smythe, win or lose, for the Kings. The UMass Amherst product, for comparison, has numbers even better than those of J.S. Giguere circa 2003. Giguere, to date, is the last goaltender (and player, for that matter) to win the Conn Smythe on a team that ultimately lost the Stanley Cup. Coincidentally, Giguere's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, another SoCal team, lost to the Devils that year.

So now that you know about all of the star power....actually we still haven't covered American hero Zach Parise, rookie sensation Adam Henrique, or the ageless Patrick Elias for the Devils. Nor have we covered Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, or Dustin Brown for the Kings.

We've got two pretty even teams here. The Devils have a far superior Power Play (18% vs. 8%); the Kings are the better penalty-killing team (91%-74%). So special teams will no doubt be a factor in this series. I figured throughout the post-season that this would be Marty Brodeur's last run at another Stanley Cup, but he said the other day he plans on returning next year regardless. Maybe I'm reading too much into those comments, maybe I'm not. But the sense of urgency level for the Devils has probably dropped juuuust a bit due to those comments.

Meanwhile, LA, a Second Six team formed in 1967, has never won the Stanley Cup. Heck, they've only been to one Cup all-time, with Wayne Gretzky back in 1993. And there's a slight trend here. Blackhawks break a 49-year drought in 2010. Bruins a 39-year drought in 2011.

So I guess I'm gonna go Kings in 7. Sorry, Puddy. You can always invest in a Jonathan Quick jersey.