The L.A. Kings have shown in these Stanley Cup playoffs to be a remarkable team.
They beat the San Jose Sharks in historic fashion, came back to eliminate the Anaheim Ducks, knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime of the seventh game in the Western Conference Final and are now one win away from their second Stanley Cup championship in three years.
They have four players - Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Justin Williams and Marian Gaborik - at the top of NHL post-season scoring and a goaltender in Jonathan Quick who isn’t necessarily lighting it up when it comes to statistics like save percentage and goals-against average, but has made the necessary saves at key times.
Mike Richards, with a contract of 12 years at $69 million and with the speculation of a buyout looming over his head, has still been able to chip in here and there offensively, gaining the praise of head coach Darryl Sutter just for his ability to contribute to a winning team.
Tanner Pearson has emerged, as have Jake Muzzin and Tyler Toffoli during this post-season.
The Kings are the epitome of a team. Jarret Stoll lauded the club’s chemistry, which could very much be celebrated when the Kings and New York Rangers meet in Game 4 on Wednesday, with L.A. needing only a win to clinch the silver chalice.
“We’ve got good guys in the room,” Stoll told LA Kings Insider.
“We’ve got good people. We’ve got guys that want to play the right way, aren’t selfish. There’s not one selfish guy in that room. We understand if there is a selfish guy in that room, we’ll either kick him out or he won’t play.
“That’s honestly the way it will work. Yeah, we all care about each other. There’s no cliques on our team. There’s no some guys going off here, some guys going off there.”