LA Sports: The 10 greatest sports moments of the decade
By Jamaal Artis
2. LA Kings finally win a Stanley Cup
"“This is for you, Kings fans … wherever you may be. All the frustration and disappointment of the past is gone. The 45-year drought is over. The Los Angeles Kings are indeed the kings of the National Hockey League. They are the 2012 Stanley Cup champions.”– Bob Miller"
After 45 years the Los Angeles Kings finally lifted the Stanley Cup as champions of the NHL. The 2012 Kings seemed like the least likely team to win hockey’s ultimate prize. In December they fired their coach Terry Murray and hired Darryl Suter. Though Sutter did get them into the playoffs as the eighth seed there was little evidence the team would go far.
That spring the Kings went 16-4 the second-best record in the playoffs since each series became a seven-game series. The Kings became the first team to start every series up 3-0 and their crowning game was the sixth against the New Jersey Devils where the Kings left no doubt routing them 6-1 including three power-play goals to start the game up 3-0.
The hero of the playoffs was goaltender Jonathan Quick who went 16-4 with a 1.41 GAA, .946 save percentage, and three shutouts throughout the playoffs. Captain Dustin Brown became the second American and first Kings player to hoist the Stanley Cup and a new golden age in franchise history began.