The Los Angeles Kings Championship Proves That A Hot Team Is The Most Dangerous Team In The Postseason

Let me say one thing before I begin, I unequivocally hate the BCS and I am hoping that the proposed four team college football playoff will go into affect by the 2014 season.

I hate how the champion of each of the power six conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) receives an automatic bid to one of the BCS bowl games. Just look at 2011 when the Big East Champion Connecticut, who had a 8-5 overall record, got to play in the Fiesta Bowl, while Boise St., who had a 12-1 record during the season and a win over ACC Champion Virginia Tech, had to play in the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas because the WAC didn't have an automatic bid. I don't think anybody would argue that Connecticut was anywhere near as good of a team as Boise St. was that season.

I dislike that the different bowl committees determine which team will play in their bowl as the at-large selection because they often chose the team that will guarantee the most revenue and fan support, rather than the team that had the best season. Just look at last year when Virginia Tech, who didn't beat one team ranked in the top 25 at the end of the season and lost in the ACC title game by 28 points to Clemson, was selected over Kansas St., whose only two losses were to the highly ranked Oklahoma schools (Oklahoma and Oklahoma St.), as well as Boise St., who had a 11-1 record and beat the SEC East Champion Georgia Bulldogs, for the Sugar Bowl. Sugar Bowl CEO Paul Hoolahan referenced the fact that Virginia Tech's fan support was "extremely important" in their inclusion in the game, showing the extreme flaws in the BCS, as the Hokies were picked largely because their fan base travels well and the game would sell more tickets than if Kansas St. or Boise St. were playing.

With all that being said, unlike most other sport, almost every season the best team in college football walks away National Champion because the BCS National Championship game slates the number 1 ranked team vs the number 2 ranked team. Of course, some years there is debate over the teams in the title game, but often times the top two teams meet for all the marbles.

However, when you look at some of the other sports, the team that gets hot during the playoffs often wounds up champion rather than the best team during the length of the season.

We all love the upsets that come with March Madness, but the tournament winner is not always the best team, as it is often the team that gets hot coming into the big dance.

For instance, just two years ago, the Connecticut Huskies finished the regular season outside the top 20 and had a 9-9 mark in the Big East, which was only good enough for 9th place in the conference. In fact, the Huskies had a record of 0-7 against the top 5 teams from the Big East that year during the regular season (0-1 vs Pittsburgh, 0-2 vs Notre Dame, 0-1 vs Syracuse, 0-2 vs Louisville, and 0-1 vs St. John's).

However, the Huskies went on an incredible run en route to their Big East tournament title, as they became the first ever team in Big East history to win 5 games in 5 nights. On the back of their conference tournament championship, where they beat four straight highly ranked teams, the Huskies came into the NCAA tournament flying high with a ton of momentum. They used that momentum to mount a run through the tourney, where Kemba Walker led the Huskies to the program's 3rd ever National Championship. It is pretty obvious to see that the Huskies were the hottest team in college basketball coming into the big dance, and they rode their wining streak all the way to a National Championship.

A similar phenomenon has happened the past two years in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants Super Bowl runs. Both the Packers and the Giants were forced to fight for a playoff spot through the last week of the season, as they each had to win their final two games just to make the postseason.

Two years ago, the Packers were entering week 16 with a 8-6 record and had been thoroughly struggling, as they had dropped 3 of their previous 4 games. Coming into their final two games, only 1 of the Packers 8 wins had come against a team with a winning record at the time of the game.

Despite their struggles against quality opponents through the first 14 weeks, the Packers found a new gear in their final two outings of the regular season. In week 16, the Packers destroyed the playoff hopeful New York Giants, who had been a game ahead of the Packers in the NFC Wild Card standings entering the game, 45-17. The following week, in a must win game to hold off the Giants and Buccaneers against the NFC North division winning Chicago Bears, the Packers won in an ugly battle, 10-3.

The Pack used their late season momentum with wins over two very good teams to make a run through the postseason en route to their 4th Super Bowl in franchise history. The Packers had been in playoff mode since week 16 and were ready to go for the postseason, while the Eagles, for example had been resting their starters the previous week and looked rusty in their Wild Card loss to the Packers. The Pack also used the confidence from their win over the Bears to once again knock off their arch rivals in the NFC Championship game.

Last year's New York Giants are another example of a team that got hot right before the postseason and used their strong play entering the playoffs to propel themselves to a title.

Following a week 15 loss at home to the Washington Redskins, who had just 4 wins at the time, the Giants were sitting at 7-7 having dropped 5 of their previous 6 games. The Giants were really struggling defensively, especially in the secondary, as Drew Bress, Aaron Rodgers, and Tony Romo each threw for more than 320 yards against them in three consecutive losses.

However, the Giants turned their season around with two do or die wins at the end of the year. They topped their crosstown rival New York Jets in a huge game for both teams playoff chances and then won a winner take all NFC East divisional game against the Dallas Cowboys.

The wins sparked the Giants playoff run to the Super Bowl, as they came alive following their successful end to the regular season. Not only was the Giants confidence soaring, but they also were much sharper than other teams, like the Green Bay Packers, who had been resting their starters for the last week of the season.

This same pattern of not necessarily the best team winning the title, but rather the team that gets on a winning streak and is the hot team in the postseason, also showed itself during the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, as the Kings got on a roll and never looked back.

Everybody knows that in postseason hockey a hot goaltender can lead his team to a Stanley Cup title and that is exactly what happened with the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick had the most unbelievable stretch of 20 games of his life and his incredible play between the pipes were the main reason that the Kings became the first ever 8 seed in either conference to ever win the Stanley Cup. In fact, the Kings were just the second ever 8 seed to even reach the Stanley Cup finals, as the 2005-2006 Edmonton Oilers reached the Cup finals as an 8 seed, but ultimately fell in 7 games to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Quick had one of the greatest postseason stretches for a netminder in NHL history and his hot play gave the entire Kings team confidence that they could pull off a run through the postseason.

When the Kings joined the 1991 Minnesota Wild, the 2000 San Jose Sharks, the 2006 Edmonton Oilers, the 2009 Anaheim Ducks, and the 2010 Montreal Canadiens as just the 6th team to knock off the Presidents' Trophy winner in the first round, Jonathan Quick was the difference maker in the series. He held the Vancouver Canucks to just 5 goals in the Kings 4 victories and had a shutout in game 3 to put the Kings up 3-0 in the series.

In the Western Conference semifinals, the 2nd seeded St. Louis Blues scored just 6 goals in the entire 4 game series, as the Kings swept the Blues 4-0. The Kings used the strong play of Quick to become the first ever team to knock off both of the top two seeds in their conference during the playoffs. En route to their 2nd Conference Finals appearance in franchise history, the Kings had won 8 of their 9 playoff games and were riding high with confidence and momentum behind the out of this world play of Jonathan Quick.

In the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Coyotes, Quick had .939 save percentage and led the Kings to their 2nd Stanley Cup Finals appearance in franchise history and their 1st since 1993 when Wayne Gretzky and crew lost to the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games. Entering the Stanley Cup Finals the Kings had an overall postseason record of 12-2.

Finally, in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead and Quick allowed a total of just 2 goals in the team's first three victories. Although the Devils won the next two games, as the Kings scored just 1 goal in both Game 4 and Game 5, Quick finished out the series with a dominant performance and his hot play led the Kings to their first Stanley Cup in their 44-year franchise history.

Deservedly so, Quick won the Conn Smyte Trophy and added on to the long line of goaltenders who were awarded the playoff MVP award after they led their team to an appearance in the Stanley Cup. Quick became the 5th netminder in the past 11 postseason since 2001 (no postseason in 2005 due to the NHL lockout) to take his team to the Cup Finals and win the Conn Smyte award, showing that a hot goaltender often leads to success in the playoffs.

Kings center Colin Fraser said, "I've said to my buddies, we've got the right team, but we just have to get hot at the right time. The last six weeks of the regular season, we were in a dogfight just to get into the playoffs and we got hot at the right time. We just started rolling."

Shootouts Are Perfect For The Regular Season But Overtimes Have Made This Postseason

In a season where Sidney Crosby played just 22 games due to his post-concussion symptoms and Alex Ovechkin had career lows with 65 points and just 27 assists (his lowest totals since he had 85 points last year and 46 assists during the 2006-2007 season), the NHL wasn't dazzling with star power. 

It is easy to take a quick glance at the team's remaining in the NHL playoffs and not get overly enthused. 

The defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, who finished 2nd in the East, were eliminated in the first round in 7 games by the Washington Capitals. The Bruins joined the 1989-1990 Calgary Flames, the 2002-2003 Detroit Red Wings, and the 2007-2008 Anaheim Ducks as just the 4th Stanley Cup Champion since 1990 to lose their first round match-up after winning the Cup, despite having home ice advantage.

The star studded Pittsburgh Penguins were extremely disappointing in their first round defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Pens, who were 14-4-1 during March and April largely fueled by Crosby's return, were sliced apart by the Flyers offense. In Philly's 4 victories, they averaged more than 6 goals per game.

In the Western Conference, the top seeded and Presidents' Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks could only muster one game during their opening round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Without Daniel Sedin for the first three games of the series, the Canucks fell in a 3-0 hole. The Canucks became just the 6th Presidents' Trophy winner to lose in the first round of the playoffs joining the 1990-1991 Chicago Blackhawks, the 1990-2000 St. Louis Blues, the 2005-2006 Detroit Red Wings, the 2008-2009 San Jose Sharks, and the 2009-2010 Washington Capitals.

Finally, instead of powerhouses like the Red Wings and the Blackhawks in the Western Conference semifinals, they have been replaced by much less attractive teams like the Phoenix Coyotes, who knocked off the Blackhawks in 6 games, and the Nashville Predators, who defeated the Red Wings in 5 games.

Despite both conference semifinals lacking the star power of a normal year, the NHL playoffs have been nothing less than magnificent due to all of the close games and the wild finishes in overtime.

During the 2003-2004 NHL season, 170 NHL games ended in a tie with neither team walking home the winner. In fact, the Minnesota Wild only had 20 ties that year, which means they had nearly 3 ties every 10 games.

Following the NHL lockout in 2004, Gary Bettman decided to implement a shootout during the regular season if both teams remained tied after three periods and a five minute overtime. Although the rule has received some criticism especially from hockey purists, it has made the end of games extremely exciting as no fan wants to see a game end without a winner.

However, there is nothing better than sudden-death hockey overtime in an intense and highly contested playoff game and that is what this year's playoffs have provided.

During the conference quarterfinals, of the 48 games, 16 of them were won in overtime, which set a record for the most overtime games during the first round of the playoffs. This mean that a third of the opening round games took at least one extra period of thrilling hockey to declare a winner. In fact, every series had at least one overtime game aside from the Predators-Red Wings 5 game battle.

Both the Bruins-Capitals series and the Panthers-Devils series went into overtime in game 6 as well as in the decisive game 7.

The Capitals were unable to close out the Bruins at home in the Verizon Center in game 6 after Tyler Seguin scored just 3 minutes and 17 seconds into overtime. However, the Capitals regrouped and returned the favor in an exhilarating game 7 overtime victory after Joel Ward slammed home a rebound for the series win.

After falling behind the Panthers 3-2 in the series, the Devils were able to keep their championship hopes alive by winning both game 6 and game 7 in exciting overtime periods. Travis Zajac became the hero in game 6 with his goal in OT, but the intensity of game 6 was nothing compared to the pressure of game 7, which lasted two overtimes before rookie center Adam Henrique won the series for the Devils with en electrifying goal.

Finally, the Coyotes-Blackhawks series was overtime galore, as the first 5 games of the series all went into overtime, which tied an NHL record with five consecutive extra periods. Even though the Coyotes are still flying under the radar despite the fact that they are one win away from reaching the Western Conference finals and the Blackhawks were without Marian Hossa for the final 3 games of the series, the Coyotes-Blackhawks were a can't miss matchup because every game was nip and tuck.

The Boston Bruins Overcame Home Ice Advantage To Win The Stanley Cup

For the first 6 games of the Stanley Cup Finals, only the home team could muster a win. Weather the games were close in Vancouver or blowouts in Boston, only the home team could walk away victorious.

The Canucks took the first two games of the Stanley Cup at home. In Game 1, Roberto Luongo pitched a shutout, as the Canucks blanked the Bruins 1-0. Luongo had 36 saves in between the pipes. Game 2 was another close game but the Canucks once again were victorious at Rogers Arena in overtime 3-2. Luongo was great with 28 saves in the net. In Game 5 in Vancouver with the series tied at 2, the Canucks won another close game 1-0. Luongo had his second shutout of the series with 31 big saves in net.

When the series was in Boston, the Canucks were a different team. Although Roberto Luongo said, "I like playing on the road, almost more than at home. The opposing crowds pump me up," Luongo looked horrible in net in Boston and the Bruins offense was firing on all cylinders. For the Canucks offensively, they couldn't score on Boston netminder Tim Thomas at TD Garden. In Game 3, the Bruins won 8-1 after the score was tied at 0 after the first period. Game 4 was another Boston victory in Boston. Luongo was pulled early in the third period after allowing four goals in a 4-0 loss. In a must win for the Bruins at home in Game 6 with the series at 3-2 in favor of the Canucks, the Bruins once again were great at home with a 5-2 victory. They scored 4 goals in the first 10 minutes of the first period and the Canucks had to pull Roberto Luongo from goal once again.

If you watched the Canucks in Vancouver and then in Boston, you would think that they were two different teams and you would think that Roberto Luongo was two different players. In 3 games in Vancouver, Luongo had 2 shutouts and allowed 2 goals on 95 shots. When Luongo was in Boston, he let in 17 goals and had just 51 saves. The Bruins even admitted that they play much better at home than on the road. Brad Marchand said, "It's always easier to be at home. We feed off the energy, off our fans. They just bring out the best in us." Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg voiced a similar opinion, as he said, "I guess both teams are just really comfortable playing in front of their home crowd, feeding off the energy and playing well. It looks like we're comfortable with the way we played. Just as they did, we feed off the energy in our building." Zdeno Chara added, "It just seems we play better at home. On the road, we have some lapses, do some things wrong and do some things right. You have to pay attention for 60 minutes." 

The advantage of playing at home in the Stanley Cup Finals has been a trend for years. Of the previous 80 Stanley Cups, the team with home ice advantage had won 57 times including 19 of the last 23 and 11 of the last 12. Since 2009, the home team was 17-2 in the Stanley Cup Finals coming into the Canucks- Bruins Game 7. In 2009 and 2010, the road team won just 1 game. The home team was also 12-3 in Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Lucky enough for the Vancouver Canucks and especially Roberto Luongo, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals was back in Vancouver at Rogers Arena. Daniel Sedin said, " We're 3-3 and we won al three games at home and we have the fourth game at home. So we have the seventh game at home and we'll take that. We are confident." The Bruins would have to get over their road woes or they would fall in Game 7 and have to watch the Canucks lift the cup.

Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien said, "We've created ourselves another opportunity and it's up to us to take advantage of it but we've got to be hungrier than we have been the last three times in Vancouver." Bruins defensemen Johnny Boychuk added, "It's the last game of the season. This is what you play for. Obviously, it's a little kid's dream to win the Stanley Cup. And to do it on the road, it doesn't matter where as long as you win it." The Bruins had to change something up this time in Vancouver, so injuried forward Nathan Horton squirted a bottle of melted ice from TD Garden onto Rogers Arena and the Bruins were a different team than the three previous times they were in Vancouver. The Bruins took advantage of their fourth chance to knock off the Canucks on the road in Game 7. Tim Thomas was great, as he had been all series, home or away. The real key was the Boston offense, which scored four goals including one shorthanded goal to help the Bruins win their first Stanley Cup in 39 years since 1972. The Bruins overcame home ice advantage that had been so useful to the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup and walk away with Lord Stanley.

Stanley Cup Finals Prediction

Stanley Cup Finals:
1. Vancouver Canucks over 3. Boston Bruins in 6 games

Will the Canucks or Bruins walk away with the Stanley Cup?

NHL Playoffs Conference Finals Predictions

Eastern Conference Finals:
5. Tampa Bay Lightning over 3. Boston Bruins in 6 games

Western Conference Finals:
1. Vancouver Canucks over 2. San Jose Sharks in 7 games

NHL Playoffs Conference Semifinals Predictions

Eastern Conference Semifinals:

1. Wahington Capitals over 5. Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games

3. Boston Bruins over 2. Philadelphia Flyers in 7 games

Western Conference Semifinals:

1. Vancouver Canucks over 5. Nashville Predators in 6 games

3. Detroit Red Wings over 2. San Jose Sharks in 7 games

NHL Playoffs First Round Predictions

Eastern Conference First Round:
1. Washington Capitals over 8. New York Rangers in five games
5. Tampa Bay Lightning over 4. Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games
3. Boston Bruins over 6. Montreal Canadiens in six games
7. Buffalo Sabres over 2. Philadelphia Flyers in seven games

Western Conference First Round:
1. Vancouver Canucks over 8. Chicago Blackhawks in six games
5. Nashville Predators over 4. Anaheim Ducks in seven games
3. Red Wings over 6. Phoenix Coyotes in six games
2. San Jose Sharks over 7. Los Angeles Kings in five games