The Los Angeles Kings won their first Stanley Cup in team history Monday night capping an unbelievable run. The Kings went 16-4 in the postseason, 10-1 on the road, and ended the Devils' hopes with a 6-1 stomping in Game 6.
As a team the Kings demonstrated tremendous grit, toughness, preparation, focus... you name it. LA reached its potential in this years playoffs and provided a great example of how a group of players can come together and win a championship despite a recent history of not reaching their potential.
The Mentally Tough Performer of Week #8 really backstopped this whole amazing run, Jonathan Quick. Without his confident play that had to give the Kings the belief that they could win it all, this run does not happen. Quick was amazing in net and was rewarded with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. Quick allowed 1.41 goals per game in going 16-4, and had a whooping .946 save percentage.
Even more than the numbers, Quick created an invisible wall in front of the net and got in the heads of the Kings' opponents. Quick intimidated opposing teams and gave his team the much needed trust to go out and play their game. I thought Tim Thomas provided one of the most amazing goaltending efforts in last year's playoffs. Jonathan Quick topped that in 2012.
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