2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Viewing Guide: LA Kings vs Anaheim Ducks

Recall, if you will, the 2012-13 season. The Kings put the St. Louis Blues away in six games, and a second round Kings-Ducks matchup seemed imminent. All the Anaheim Ducks had to do was win Game 7. They had home ice. The Red Wings, though perpetually pesty these days, should have been beatable.

Recall, if you will, that the Ducks blew that game.

 
Losers.

This year the Ducks finished their series in 6 games, and it was up to the Kings to best the San Jose Sharks in a game 7 to earn a Freeway Faceoff series.

Turns out — the Kings are a team you can count on. That series is now.

 
RECENT HISTORY

Well, there is no recent playoff history. As has been and will continue to be promoted, this is the first time that the Kings and Ducks have ever met in the postseason. It’s been 20 years!

Each team’s fans have spent plenty time debating which franchise really owns Southern California. They’ve argued that it belongs to the team that was established first (the Kings), and they’ve argued that the team who won the Cup for California first (the Ducks) should be the true ruler. Now they get to mess each other up during some playoff hockey to try to settle this for real for a while.

 
HEROES & VILLAINS

This series doesn’t have a built-in revenge narrative, and no Ducks managed to concuss Jarret Stoll last season, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t key guys to watch out for on each team.

Hero: Anze Kopitar

Ten points in seven games is a fantastic start for Kopitar. He earned only 9 points in 18 games during the entirety of the Kings’ 2012-13 playoff run, leading people to wonder if he was playing hurt. So far, Kopitar’s playing much more like the first-line center fans recognize. His shooting percentage may not stay at an amazing 25 percent, but if he continues to drive play this way, the Kings have a much better chance at hanging in there with Anaheim’s top scorers.

Villain: Jarret Stoll

Dustin Brown didn’t injure anyone last series. Instead it was Stoll who hit Marc-Edouard Vlasic and targeted his head, probably giving him a concussion. Stoll managed to avoid supplementary discipline for this, teaching him zero lessons. Watch out for more needless infractions, possibly even in the offensive zone, just so Stoll can effectively hurt both teams at the exact same time.

Hero: Nick Bonino

In his first full season with the Ducks, Nick Bonino is having some kind of year. He earned 49 points during the regular season, including this weird but annoyingly cool goal that tied the Kings and Ducks score early in the last game before the playoffs.

 
He might be turning into something of a King Killer too, because he only scored 5 goals in 27 games last season, but three of them were in the Ducks’ 7-4 win over the Kings.

Bonino also scored the game 6 overtime winner against the Dallas Stars that put his team through to the second round.

Villain: Corey Perry

On the one hand, it’s a real scientific breakthrough that combining pet waste, bleach, and tossing them into a radioactive lake can produce something resembling a human baby. That baby-like abomination can even get pretty good at scoring goals if raised with that focus, but in the end he’s still just glowing cat poop.

 
Players need to remember that when this Petri dish wonder says hello in the only way he knows how, it’s best to respond in the language he understands.

GIF from @myregularface.

Aww, buddies greeting each other! Looks like Perry made some fast friends in the Dallas series.

Hero: Bruce Boudreau

Boudreau is great because he’s never coached a team to a Stanley Cup, and he’s also really just with the Ducks to audition to be Darryl Sutter’s replacement. Boudreau coached the Manchester Monarchs once upon a time, and he still adores the Kings franchise. As Jewels from the Crown reminded us, he wrote an LA Times piece predicting the Kings would win in 2012. He thinks a healthy Kings team would’ve won the Cup again last year. Boudreau would probably ditch the Ducks mid-series if someone offered him the chance to coach the Kings. That’s love.

 
FOR HOCKEY FANS WHO CAN READ GOOD

Jewels from the Crown – Kings-Ducks Playoff Preview
Anaheim Calling – The Blood Bath Begins
LA Kings Insider – Team Stats at a Glance
NHL.com – Though neighbors, Ducks, Kings have travel plans
Puck Daddy – Tinder Playoff Preview
CBS Sports – Playoff Preview: Kings vs Ducks

 
PLAY ALONG AT HOME

Click the photo for the full-size version of the Bingo card. A sip for every box that gets checked off, and if you get Bingo, you get to chug!

Now we’re all set to get this round going. Here’s hoping the Kings don’t need to make a comeback again.