Stanley Cup Playoffs 2012: 3 Reasons Los Angeles Kings Will Win the Stanley Cup

No team has shocked the hockey world in the 2012 playoffs more than the Los Angeles Kings. With only six wins separating them from the Stanley Cup, I’m going to break down the three main reasons that the Los Angeles Kings will be hoisting the Cup high above their heads come June.

The first (and probably most important) reason is goaltending.

A hot goalie makes all the difference in the world in the playoffs, and goalie Jonathan Quick picked up right where he left off in the regular season. Quick led the league in shutouts during the regular season with 10, and has two so far in the playoffs.

For a team that was offensively challenged during most of the regular season, those 10 shutouts were the difference that launched the Kings into the playoffs as an eighth seed.

The second reason I feel this team has what it takes to win the Cup? The fact that they have yet to lose a road game so far in the playoffs.

The Kings went 3-0 in Vancouver against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Canucks, 2-0 in St. Louis versus the Blues, and have gone 2-0 so far in Phoenix against the very tough Coyotes. What the Kings have done on the road so far is absolutely incredible—usually you love it if you can manage a split on the road in playoff hockey.

Lastly, the Kings will win the Stanley Cup because they finally found their offense.

Before the season, a fair amount of writers said this team would be great. They have great young stars in Mike Richards and Dustin Brown, but they couldn't get it going offensively—finishing 29th in the league with 2.29 goals per game.

In the postseason, however, that number has jumped to 3.10 goals per game.  The Kings have scored four-plus goals six times in 11 playoff games. For reference, in 82 regular season games, they reached four-plus goals only 16 times.