Kings players and coaches celebrate the first Stanley Cup title in team history.
By Jayne Kamin-Oncea, US Presswire
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings franchise, founded by the late Jack Kent Cooke in 1967, brought to life by stars such as Rogie Vachon and Marcel Dionne in the 1970s and put on the map by Wayne Gretzky's arrival in 1988, finally has a Stanley Cup championship.
By Jayne Kamin-Oncea, US Presswire
Kings captain Dustin Brown hoists the Stanley Cup to celebrate the franchise's first title.
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The Kings' 45-year wait is over after captain Dustin Brown had a goal and two assists and Jeff Carter andTrevor Lewis chipped in two goals apiece to spark Los Angeles to a series-clinching 6-1 win against the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
"I remember coming here in 1984, my first training camp as a player, and thinking that I wanted to be part of the special group that wins it here," said Kings president Luc Robitaille. "I didn't think it would take this long, but the feeling is amazing."
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The game turned in the first period when New Jersey's Steve Bernier received a five-minute boarding penalty, and game misconduct, for ramming Los Angeles defenseman Rob Scuderi into the boards from behind.
"I was a little woozy," said Scuderi, who was able to return to the game after being checked out.
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Brown, Carter and Lewis scored three power-play goals in a span of less than four minutes to take charge against the Devils, who never scored more than two goals against Kings goalie Jonathan Quick in any game of the series.
Championship parade
The Los Angeles Kings will celebrate their first Stanley Cup title with a parade and rally Thursday.
The parade will begin at noon PT at Figueroa and West 5th streets and go down 5th Street to Staples Center and L.A. Live.
The rally will be inside Staples Center starting at 2:30 p.m. PT. Priority will be given to those with season tickets and owners of suites and premier seats.
"These guys can stay in the moment," said Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter. "They could get there, stay there, and be resilient."
Stanley Cup gear!
Get your 2012 Stanley Cup title gear celebrating the Los Angeles Kings' winning performance at the USA TODAY Sports Store.
Quick won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP with a 1.40 goals-against average in the postseason.
"I know the attention the team is going to get is going to be great," Quick said. "That's something we've been looking for in this market for a long time."
Brown becomes the second U.S.-born captain of a Stanley Cup champion, joining Derian Hatcher (1999, Dallas Stars).
The Kings are the first No. 8 seed to win the Stanley Cup, and they almost missed the playoffs. They were ranked 29th out of 30 teams in goal scoring.
"These guys, since March 1st, they've lost about six games," Sutter said. "They've taken a lot of public negativity towards them. Look what they've just done. Pretty awesome. Tells you what type of players they are."
The team struggled to the point that GM Dean Lombardi fired coach Terry Murray in December and replaced him with Sutter, who had taken the Calgary Flames to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 and then lost a Game 7.
"After Darryl came in," Quick said, "I felt like everybody felt a little more accountable for their own actions, in their day-to-day play and practice."
The respect the players had for Sutter was evident in the post-game celebration as players stopped to hug their coach, who is known to be a bit gruff at times.
"I think he just brought in a different attitude," Scuderi said.
In the playoffs, the Kings finished with a 16-4 record after knocking off the top three seeds in the West and then the Devils. "We are a confident team," Scuderi said.
After taking a 3-0 series lead, the Devils had won the last two games to turn it into a tight series.
"This is awesome. … (This series) dragged on longer than we wanted," Scuderi said. "But it's great to win it for the fans who have been patient for a long, long time. "
After Brown carried the Stanley Cup, it went to 35-year-old defenseman Willie Mitchelland then to Simon Gagne, who had gotten to the Stanley Cup Final with Philadelphia two years ago only to lose to the Chicago Blackhawks.
"When you are a kid, you play for the Stanley Cup tournament in the street," Gagne said. "I won it a couple of times there, but never the real Cup. I spent so many years trying to win that Cup. It means so much to me."
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