LA Sports: Five greatest teams of the 2010 decade

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 11: (L) Sr. Vice President and General Manger, STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre and L.A. LIVE., Lee Zeidman along with head coach Darryl Sutter and other members of the Kings surround the Stanley Cup during a group photo after the Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-1 to win the Stanley Cup in Game Six of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center on June 11, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

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#1. 2012 Los Angeles Kings 40-27-15 PTS: 95

How can the 8th seed in a playoff year possibly be the number one team of this decade? Easy by being the greatest playoff team in the league in 24 years.

Throw out the Kings’ regular-season struggles and look at what they did in the NHL playoffs. The Kings’ record for the spring of 2012 was 16-4, second all-time eclipsed only by the 1988 Edmonton Oilers who went 16-2.

The Kings became the third team to defeat the 1, 2, and 3 seeds en route to the Stanley Cup Final. The Kings became the first team to start every series with a 3-0 lead and set a record with 10 consecutive road wins.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick set a new record with a 1.41 GAA for the playoffs on the way to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Coach Darryl Sutter took over mid-December and molded the team in his image as a tenacious hard-hitting team and it all came together in the playoffs. Taking the team all the way to their first Stanley Cup in 45 years, that’s why they’re the easy choice as the team of the decade.

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