2012 Stanley Cup Final

Paths to the Final

The Los Angeles Kings had rarely advanced deep into the postseason before 2012. From 1994 through 2011, the Kings won just one playoff series. During the 2011–12 regular season, the Kings fired head coach Terry Murray in December and replaced him with Darryl Sutter. Under Sutter, the team finished with 95 points, falling from first place in the Pacific Division to third in the division and eighth in the conference.

They became the first team with a losing record to finish a season with more than 90 points. In the playoffs, the Kings eliminated the first-, second-, and third-seeded teams in order: the Vancouver Canucks in five games, the St. Louis Blues in a sweep, and the Phoenix Coyotes in five games. They went 8–0 on the road during those three rounds, becoming the first team to reach the Final undefeated on the road. The Kings were the second eighth seed to reach the Final, following the 2006 Edmonton Oilers.

Game summaries

In game one, Los Angeles scored first on a goal by Colin Fraser. The Devils tied the game late in the second period when Anton Volchenkov's shot deflected off a Kings defenceman. A Devils goal in the third period was waved off because Zach Parise pushed the puck with his hand. Anze Kopitar scored on a breakaway 8:13 into overtime, giving the Kings a 2–1 win. The victory made the Kings the first team to win their first nine road games in a single postseason. Game two also ended 2–1 in overtime, with Jeff Carter scoring at 13:42 of the extra period. Drew Doughty opened the scoring for Los Angeles in the first period. Ryan Carter tied the game for New Jersey in the third period. Jonathan Quick made 32 saves, while Martin Brodeur made 30.

Stanley Cup engraving

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Stanley Cup to Kings captain Dustin Brown after Los Angeles won game six 6–1. Fifty-three names were engraved on the Cup, one more than the standard 52. The Kings successfully requested an exemption to include Kevin Westgarth and Davis Drewiske, who did not play in the playoffs but spent the entire season with the team. Mike Richards was engraved as Michael.

Terry Murray, who coached the first 29 games of the season and remained as a scout, was denied engraving because too many names had been submitted; he received a Stanley Cup ring instead. Retired players Rogie Vachon and Marcel Dionne also received rings. Thirteen players on the Final roster were left off the engraving for not qualifying; only Andrei Loktionov played in the playoffs. Scott Parse, who missed the entire playoffs due to injury, was the only player left off who spent the whole season with Los Angeles. Several minor-league players were not in the team picture.

Television

In Canada, CBC broadcast the series in English and RDS in French. In the United States, NBC aired games one, two, five, and six, while NBC Sports Network televised games three and four. Had the series ended in four games, it would have produced the lowest ratings ever for a major-league championship series. Games five and six improved the average, giving the 2012 Final a slightly higher rating than the 2007 Final, which remains the lowest-rated championship series in American television history.