Flashback: Kings Win the 2014 Stanley Cup
The story of the LA Kings 2014 Stanley Cup win is a special story of comeback and perseverance. The Kings went through four rounds to win the Stanley Cup, and they won it in a special, heartwarming way that has not been replicated since.
In the first round, the Kings played the San Jose Sharks. After digging themselves into a hole of being down by three games and needing four to win, they had to win three straight in a row to win the series. Otherwise, they were going to be eliminated in the first round. After winning three games in a row, the Kings won Game 7 by a score of five to one. Round One showed that the Kings can persevere to come back from being so far down, which was a major theme in their 2014 playoff run.
In the second round against the Anaheim Ducks, the Kings managed not to dig themselves in a three-game hole again. They won the first two games; however, the Ducks won three in a row, leaving the Kings to have to win Game 6. This took the Kings to Game 7 again. In Game 7, the Kings beat the Ducks with a flurry of six goals to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
After beating both of their California rivals, the Kings faced their old conference rival, the Chicago Blackhawks, in Round Three. The Kings and Blackhawks traded games, winning with very close scores to set up an exciting Conference Final. In Game 7, the Blackhawks and the Kings came out ready to win. The ‘Hawks Justin Williams and Jonathan Toews, who had been scoring all playoffs, each tallied a goal. However, it was not enough to win in regulation, and the game went into overtime. Alec Martinez, who had also scored in the previous game, tallied a goal in overtime to send the Los Angeles Kings to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
Alec Martinez’s heroic goal in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final set the stage for a Stanley Cup Final between the two largest cities in the United States, Los Angeles and New York. I was in Los Angeles during the Kings Cup Final run. I remember there being Kings banners in the streets, and people wearing Kings jerseys everywhere. It was an exciting Cup Final for all hockey fans, especially considering that the Kings had won the Cup two years before, in 2012.
The Kings dominated throughout the Cup Final, but luck was also on their side. The Rangers kept hitting posts and getting unlucky bounces. The Kings won three straight games to find themselves up 3-0 in the Final. If the Rangers caught up and won, it would be nothing less than a miracle. In Game 4, which was in Madison Square Garden, the two teams ended up tied. The Kings had a chance to win the Cup as the game went into overtime. However, twice in one game, the puck stopped right on the Rangers goal line due to too much ice. The Rangers ended up taking that game after getting a lucky bounce.
The Kings went into Game 5 determined not to waste their second chance at winning the Cup. They played hard, with Justin Williams, the eventual Conn Smythe winner, and Jeff Carter scoring goals to keep the game a 2-2 tie with the Rangers. Like many games before it, this one went into overtime. An overtime period was played; the Rangers hit two posts, but there was still no winner. The crowd rallied and began to chant, “We want Cup! We want Cup!” The atmosphere was the perfect setting for the Kings to win at home. The double-overtime period began. Both teams began getting tired, hoping for that one shot that would end everything.
After fifteen agonizing minutes, a great play by defenceman Matt Greene set up a three-on-two play, with Alec Martinez, Kyle Clifford, and Tyler Tiffoli crashing the Rangers net. Tiffoli took a shot, which Henrik Lundqvist was able to turn aside; however, there was a rebound that landed on Alec Martinez’s stick. Everyone in the building knew that once Martinez had it on his stick, he wasn’t going to miss. The building got quieter in anticipation of the goal as everyone leaned forward. Martinez took a sloppy shot that made it right into the goal! The Kings bench exploded, 23 black jerseys coming onto the ice. Jonathan Quick, the goaltender, was making his way down to the other end to celebrate with his teammates. And the crowd went crazy! After a long and hard playoffs, the Kings had won 2 Cups in 2 years.
