If you follow possession stats, you already knew the Los Angeles Kings are not a typical 8th seed. They proved that to the rest of the league last night as they earned a 2-1 victory over Vancouver in OT, eliminating the President’s Trophy winners in five games. This is the first time the Kings have advanced to the second round since 2001. (Yes. We’ve been waiting since Deadmarsh for this!)
[Boxscore] [Head-to-head time on ice] [Shot differential (Fenwick/Corsi)] [Scoring Chances by Canucks Army] [Faceoffs] [Zone starts] [Shift Charts] [Fenwick Timeline]
All in all, this series was a hard-fought battle between two teams with a lot of depth and skill, far closer than the final W-L total suggests. The Kings once again had the edge in goaltending and scoring chances, and that was enough. Jonathan Quick had the magnificent playoff series we’ve been waiting for, and kept them in it during a Vancouver barrage in the first. As the game went on, the Kings’ attack improved. After tying the game early in the third, they kept pressing, out-chancing the Canucks 11-3 in the final period, and 5-1 in the brief OT.
Trevor Lewis‘ effort to cause a turnover on the final shift, which lead to Jarret Stoll’s beauty of a snipe, sums up the series: opportune plays result from hard work.
Let’s enjoy Bob Miller’s call on the goal that finished it all:
Get ready to watch round 2 against the Blues this weekend!
I’m still dancing. You?