Plenty Of Reason To Fear Defending Stanley Cup Champion Kings

The Los Angeles Kings shocked the online sports betting world by winning the Stanley Cup as the eighth seed in the Western Conference in 2012. There is plenty of reason to believe they are capable of a similar performance in 2013. The Kings won’t have the chance to repeat as the eighth seed after finishing fifth in the West this season, but they still have to get there as the lower seed all the way through to the Finals if they can go all the way. Los Angeles beat the St. Louis Blues on the way to the Stanley Cup a year ago, and after winning four-straight to close them out in the first round, they now prepare for the San Jose Sharks in the second round with every reason for fear what they can do.

The Kings gave St. Louis every chance to beat them in the first round, including the concession of a couple of game-winning goals that should have never happened. The first was in game one, when Jonathan Quick turned the puck over behind his own net and allowed Alex Steen to bury the overtime-winner. The second was late in game two, when Barret Jackman scored on a weak shot just inside the blue line with barely any time left for Los Angeles to come back. However, the Kings battled back hard to rally for four-straight wins, and as disappointing as those first two games were, it’s much more impressive how Los Angeles rallied in the face of adversity and won four-straight games to clinch the series.

Quick held his ground in goal for the Kings, posting a 1.58 goals against average and .944 save percentage even with those two game-winning goals that he conceded. Quick didn’t let the mental mistakes hurt him, rebounding to play the way he did when he led Los Angeles to the Finals in 2012, which is one of the hardest things for a goaltender to do. The defense in front of Quick also dug deep to keep the big Blues’ forwards from crashing the net, and their size and experience made the difference. The Kings have a number of key scorers that came through with timely goals including three from Jeff Carter and two each from Dustin Penner and Justin Williams. Los Angeles has all of the tools to make another Stanley Cup run, and they have to like their second round sports betting match up.

The Kings will take on the San Jose Sharks in the second round, which means they won’t have to travel far in the California series. Los Angeles will benefit from not having to face the Chicago Blackhawks this early, and hope that the Detroit Red Wings can wear them down. Either way, there is a lot to love about this Kings’ team, and plenty of reasons to think this online betting team is capable of making another Stanley Cup run in 2013.