Kings win the Cup! Kings win the Cup!

Well, I saw most of last night's Kings/Hawks finale, and it was quite the barn-burner.  I turned it on in the first, with the Hawks ahead 1-0, just seconds before the Kings took a tripping penalty that led to Hawks' second goal.  And boy, did it get chaotic after that.

Well, it was quiet for almost eight more minutes, but then it went crazy with the Kings scoring twice and the Hawks once in a sixty-three second span.  That saw the Kings tie it, then the Hawks retake the lead on a very freaky skip off the ice.

The second period was much quieter, with matching goals (Chicago's goal being on the power play again, where they spent much of the first two periods).

The third period had no power plays at all (and as a side note: Olczyk is an ass for advocating non-calls for infractions, as he did between the second and third periods.  The rules are what define the game as hockey; if you throw those out, you've just got muggings on skates.  Ignoring penalties is not "keeping the refs out of the game", it's favoring a particular style of play that isn't terribly fun to watch.  Basically, it favors the bigger team that's willing to push the boundaries further, which greatly increases the odds of injuries), and saw the Kings solidly dominate possession and eventually get it past Crawford.  But that only tied the game; being Game Seven wasn't dramatic enough.  Apparently, overtime was needed.

Well, first Quick needed to make a couple of tough saves with only a few seconds left, but he managed to do that.

Although both teams got chances, the Kings definitely had the better of the play in overtime.  With both teams just throwing the puck at the net at just about every opportunity, eventually the Kings got a break when a wrister from the point went off Leddy's arm and past Crawford to seal the win.

Despite my provocative headline, while the Kings have a large edge going into the series, beating the Rangers is not a fait accompli.  The biggest reason for that, of course, is Lundqvist, but they're far from talentless in the skating department.

What'll be really amusing is if it goes to Game Seven.  Will the universe explode when Williams (7-0 all-time in Game Sevens, 14pts in those games) faces Lundqvist (6-1, .940-ish SV%)?  Let's hope we get to find out.

Oh, one other factor; LA will be a bit more tired, after having to play the maximum of 21 games already.  Not sure if that'll factor in; getting a couple days rest before Game One certainly helps.