The Los Angeles Kings Are PFHL Stanley Cup Champions

The Los Angeles Kings Are PFHL Stanley Cup Champions



Despite not being a favorite to win the cup, the Los Angeles Kings were red hot in the 2022 playoffs. They bulldozed their way to Lord Stanley with an 16-2 record, which is a record unlikely to ever be broken. The Kings top 6 were at about a point a game or better, led by Jake Guentzel with 28 points in only 18 games. Jakub Voracek and Joe Pavelski, each had 25 points in 18 games. Ben Bishop was stellar in between the pipes with a .921 save percentage, 2.26 GAA and 1 shutout in 18 games.



In round 1, the Kings faced the high-powered Vancouver Canucks. GM Chernuka told reporters that GM Aaron Sanderson’s Vancouver Canucks was the 1 team that he didn’t want to face in the first round. Despite the Canucks getting swept in 4 games, the series was closer than it appeared with 3 games being decided by only 1 goal. Kings’ head coach Peter DeBoer employed an interesting tactic in always making tweaks to his lines so that the opposition would never know what combinations they would face. Vancouver head coach Darryl Sutter is known for his line matching tactics, and Peter DeBoer told reporters that this is one of the tactics he deployed to stifle that advantage for Vancouver.



In round 2, the Kings faced the San Jose Sharks, who also swept their 1st round opponent, the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks were led by probably the best 1-2 centers in the league in Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. Head coach Peter DeBoer knew that he had to shut down at least one of the top 2 lines, if the Kings were going to have success. The Kings pulled out to a 3-0 series lead wining 3-2 in overtime in game 1, 6-4 in game 2, and 5-3 in game 3. The San Jose Sharks then handed the Kings their first loss of the post season in game 4, winning 5-3. The comeback was not meant to be and the Kings finished off the Sharks in game 5 by a score of 4-2. LA head coach, Peter DeBoer, continued his coaching tactic of changing his lines every game. The Kings were not able to hold Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid off of the scoring sheet, each notching 6 points in round 2. The story of the 2nd round turned out to be the complete collapse of goaltending from Alex Nedeljkovic. In game #2, Alex Nedeljkovic got pulled after allowing 5 goals on 16 shots. He was not the same after that.



In round 3, the well-rested Los Angeles Kings faced a tired Dallas Stars club who were coming off of a 7th game heart attack inducing victory against the Calgary Flames. GM Jimmy Houghton was in the Conference Finals once again, and self-doubt crept into the back of his mind with his previous Conference Finals failures. The Kings got out to a commanding 2-0 series lead with victories of 4-2 and 5-2. Dallas struck back in game 3 winning 4-2. The Kings then took the final 2 games in overtime. The story of this series was the goaltending by Ben Bishop. He simply outplayed Pavel Francouz at the other end of the ice. Bishop had a .941 save percentage in game 1, .923 save percentage in game 2, .906 save percentage in game 4, and a .938 save percentage in game 5.



In round 4, the Los Angeles Kings were once again up against an opponent who had gone 7 games in their last series, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Los Angeles found another gear in the finals, completely shutting down Toronto’s offense and scoring at will against Jacob Markstrom. The Kings swept the Leafs 4-0, winning game 1 by a score of 6-2, game 2 by a score of 5-1, game 3 by a score of 5-0, and game 4 by a score of 6-1. Once again Ben Bishop was the story with a .917, .970, .976 save percentage and a shutout in game 3. This series was an offensive bonanza. Jake Guentzel lead the way with 11 points, Mackenzie Weegar with 10 points, Jakub Voracek with 8 points, Alexander Radulov with 7 points, Carter Verhaeghe with 6 points, Blake Wheeler with 5 points and Joe Pavelski with 4 points. The fact that Jake Guentzel was averaging just under 3 pts per game was incredible.



Kings fans will have to wait a few days before the players return home after a cup victory on the road in Toronto. This cup victory for veteran center Joe Thornton was extra special, as he will be retiring at the ripe ate of 43 years old. There are rumors of others possibly hanging up the skates as well. Alexander Steen, Joe Pavelski, and Nate Thompson are all 37 or older. If Pavelski were to retire, that would create a huge hole at center for the Kings going forward. Expect the Kings to try Carter Verhaeghe or Jake Guentzel at center if that’s the case.



Looking at next year, the Kings will be another year older and will have a lot of players that are starting to decline. With largely the same roster returning, expect the Kings to try it again with this roster. At about the half way mark, decisions will need to be made on the direction of this team. Tobias Bjornfot and Cody Glass will look to challenge for a spot on the pro roster next year, but GM Chernuka likes to deploy the old Detroit method for development: Wait until they’re ripe.



For now, the celebration continues, as the players drink champagne out of the cup. The hoots and hollers can be heard from outside the dressing room. We did it!