NHL Playoff Predictions 2012: Why the Los Angeles Kings Will Win Stanley Cup

At this point, it doesn't matter that the Kings entered the playoffs as the worst seed in the West. All along, they've been the only team that has flat-out dominated—against two of the best teams in the NHL—and no other team has proven anywhere near capable of beating them.

The Kings currently hold a 2-0 lead against Phoenix in the Western Conference finals. They haven't lost in nearly a month, when they dropped Game 3 of the quarterfinals to Vancouver before quickly coming back and sealing up the series with a win. They swept St. Louis in the semifinals and have won seven in a row, and they've also won seven straight playoff games on the road, which matches an NHL record.

Their secret? A goaltender no one can seem to beat.

Only once this postseason has Jonathan Quick allowed more than two goals—unsurprisingly, it was in that quarterfinals loss, when L.A. went down 3-1. Aside from that, he's boasted two shutouts and has a 1.45 goals-against average with a .951 save percentage.

At this point, it doesn't matter that the Kings finished in third place in the Pacific Division and were the last team into the playoffs. Right now, they're in the process of dismantling the team that finished at the top of their division, just like they've done to the two best teams in the conference over the last month. It's going to take a colossal collapse for them to lose four of the six games remaining in this series to keep themselves out of the finals. 

Of course, the Kings won't let themselves think about the fact that they are in the best shape of any team at this point. They're the most rested team, the most feared and the most likely team to win the Stanley Cup, based on this postseason's evidence.

Perhaps the fact that they refuse to think about that is the reason they're winning so convincingly. They don't think at all—they just do.

After a 4-0 win over the Coyotes on Tuesday, Jeff Carter—who registered a hat trick in the game—told the Associated Press, "It's a mindset; we get away, there's no distractions. For some reason, this team likes to play on the road." 

Unlike some of the other clubs with Vezina-caliber goalies who have already been knocked out of the postseason, the Kings don't rely on Quick to do everything. They don't put the pressure on him to be perfect because they can't win otherwise. They support him with enough offense to make it clear that even if he's not 100 percent on his game, the team will still be fine.

So far in the conference finals, the Kings are outscoring Phoenix 8-2. They out-shot the Coyotes 40-24 in Game 2. They have proven to be excellent at putting their opponents in such a position of frustration that they can't concentrate on anything else.

L.A. hasn't been to the Stanley Cup Final since 1993 when Wayne Gretzky was in uniform, and now, more than ever, is their best chance not only to get back there, but to win. They are the most complete team remaining in the playoffs and the most poised.

Whatever the Kings are doing, they're doing it right. For them, everything is working, and they won't stop making it work until the Stanley Cup is in hand.