June 12, 2012

When the 2011-2012 Stanley Cup play-offs began, the Los Angeles Kings were not on the radar of most hockey fans. The Kings qualified as the eighth seed for the 2011-2012 play-offs and no eighth seed had ever won the cup. Indeed, the Los Angeles franchise had never won a Stanley Cup since it entered the National Hockey League (NHL) as an expansion team for the 1967-1968 season.

But on June 11, at 7:48 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, the Los Angeles Kings became the kings of North American hockey. The team had just defeated the New Jersey Devils by a lopsided 6-1 score, completing one of the great runs in Cup history. The Kings defeated the top three seeds in the Western Conference to reach the finals. Los Angeles lost only four games throughout the play-offs, two of them in the finals. The team won a remarkable 10 straight games on the road.

The Stanley Cup, awarded annually to the team that wins the National Hockey League (NHL) championship, is the oldest trophy in professional sports competition in North America.The cup (held by defenseman Scott Niedermayer of the Anaheim Ducks) is engraved with the names of the winning teams and their players. (© Getty Images)

There were plenty of heroes on the Kings’ roster, none bigger than goalie Jonathan Quick, who posted three shut-outs and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player for the play-offs. Also in the mix for the trophy were Kings right winger Dustin Brown, center John Carter, and defenseman Drew Doughty. They and their teammates combined to deliver one of the more improbable victories in NHL history.

Additional World Book article:

• Hockey Hall of Fame