Your favorite stanley cup playoff moment (2014)

[Herby]

Exorcising the demons with Chicago. Paying the Hawks back for 2013 and winning two monster games in the United Center was beyond epic. CHI was the only team Quick struggled with, and the only opponent it seemed the Kings just couldn't beat. That changed on June 1st, 2014.

You can just hear it in Nick's voice, it was part excitement, part shock and part relief. I think most of us just learned to expect the worst when it came to playing the Hawks.

As someone who grew up in OC, now lives in Chicago and spent a little time after college in NYC this years playoffs was about as good as it could get for me. But nothing will top that Game 7 OT goal against the Hawks, just because it was a Game 7 OT in one of the best series I've ever seen.

 

[HYORI 1963]

You can just hear it in Nick's voice, it was part excitement, part shock and part relief. I think most of us just learned to expect the worst when it came to playing the Hawks.

As someone who grew up in OC, now lives in Chicago and spent a little time after college in NYC this years playoffs was about as good as it could get for me. But nothing will top that Game 7 OT goal against the Hawks, just because it was a Game 7 OT in one of the best series I've ever seen.

Yeah, but that game 7 goal didn't net us the SC, it only got us to the finals. How could that game be more exciting than the OT winner which actually won us the cup?

 

[Herby]

Yeah, but that game 7 goal didn't net us the SC, it only got us to the finals. How could that game be more exciting than the OT winner which actually won us the cup?

It was a Game 7 OT on the road against an equal opponent and likely our biggest playoff rival right now in one of the best series of all time.

Whoever won that game was winning the Stanley Cup, everyone knew that.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Yeah, but that game 7 goal didn't net us the SC, it only got us to the finals. How could that game be more exciting than the OT winner which actually won us the cup?

Not sure if more exciting is the right phrase. It was 2 years worth of buildup. It was the Hawks owning the Kings ever since the Kings won the first Cup. It was the Hawks beating the defending champ Kings in the conference final. It was the Hawks making the Kings look bad for the first two periods in Game 2 this year. It was the Hawks coming back from down 3-1 to force a Game 7 against the Kings this year.

Like Brown and a few other players said after that series, it was emotionally draining. The most emotionally draining series they had played in. After all, the players were the ones getting the Hawks collective fist down their throats. It was what Rozsival did to Williams. That little disrespectful tap on the top of his head. It was proving that 2012 wasn't a fluke, and going through the other best team in this current era to do it.

 

[HYORI 1963]

It was a Game 7 OT on the road against an equal opponent and likely our biggest playoff rival right now in one of the best series of all time.

Whoever won that game was winning the Stanley Cup, everyone knew that.

Not sure if more exciting is the right phrase. It was 2 years worth of buildup. It was the Hawks owning the Kings ever since the Kings won the first Cup. It was the Hawks beating the defending champ Kings in the conference final. It was the Hawks making the Kings look bad for the first two periods in Game 2 this year. It was the Hawks coming back from down 3-1 to force a Game 7 against the Kings this year.

Like Brown and a few other players said after that series, it was emotionally draining. The most emotionally draining series they had played in. After all, the players were the ones getting the Hawks collective fist down their throats. It was what Rozsival did to Williams. That little disrespectful tap on the top of his head. It was proving that 2012 wasn't a fluke, and going through the other best team in this current era to do it.

I hear what both of you guys are saying, but the fact of the matter was that we HAD another series to play. Yeah, Amart's OT winner against the hawx was exciting! But we won the series, not the cup. Could you imagine if we lost in the finals??? Who's going to care about us defeating the hawx, if we lost in the finals?

For me, anytime a SC finals goes into an OT, it's one of the most exciting events in sports. So, for Amart to close it out the way he did, it was the ultimate high! It was even more exciting than our first cup, because it was in OT.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I hear what both of you guys are saying, but the fact of the matter was that we HAD another series to play. Yeah, Amart's OT winner against the hawx was exciting! But we won the series, not the cup. Could you imagine if we lost in the finals??? Who's going to care about us defeating the hawx, if we lost in the finals?

For me, anytime a SC finals goes into an OT, it's one of the most exciting events in sports. So, for Amart to close it out the way he did, it was the ultimate high! It was even more exciting than our first cup, because it was in OT.

The question was favorite moment, not most exciting. Those can be two different things.

I'm not going to say that whoever won between Chicago and LA was going to win the Cup, at least from the Kings point of view, since the Kings had to win 3 games in OT, all 3 at home, and the Rangers had leads in all 3 games. The Kings didn't roll over the Rangers. However, if the Kings had taken out the Hawks in 5 games, that Chicago series may not feel quite the same.

Most exciting moment for me? The OT in Game 5 against the Rangers. 4 posts, chances back and forth, Kings can win the Cup, the Rangers are playing for their season, and the Kings ultimately win the game and the Cup. The crowd is chanting we want the Cup as the play and goal is happening. You can't top that for excitement.

Favorite moment though? The Kings taking out the Hawks. Just too much history between the two teams. Last 2 Cup winners. Met the year before. 7th game goes OT. Etc, etc. People saying it's one of the great playoff series in recent memory.

Does it feel different if the Kings don't win the next series? Maybe. Probably. Can still look back on that Kings/Leafs series in 1993 without taking the Final into account though.

 

[HYORI 1963]

Favorite moment??? Jazz Hands!!! Did Amart do the jazz hands after the OT win vs the hawx? Do you know why??? He was saving it for a better moment. True.

 

[Reclamation Project]

My favorite moment was when the guy who shouldn't be our captain hoisted the Kings second Cup in three years and became the first American to do so. Ever.

 

[HYORI 1963]

Meh, I was actually more excited to see Regher hoist his first cup. I really loved Brownie for handing it over to RR second.

 

[Herby]

So the game against Finland in the 1980 Olympics that clinched the Gold should be more memorable than the one against the Soviets?

 

[HYORI 1963]

Soviets vs US was a matchup of a David vs. Goliath. Kings vs. Hawx is far, FAR from a US vs. Soviet comparison.

 

[Battle Hymns]

Marty's 2 goals are clearly #1 and #2.

If we exclude those since they are obvious, #1 for me is the SJ choke job AINEC.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

Soviets vs US was a matchup of a David vs. Goliath. Kings vs. Hawx is far, FAR from a US vs. Soviet comparison.

I guess, then, it's a matter of perspective. For me, the scenario you mentioned, the Miracle on Ice, is one of those big rare upsets that you tell your grandkids about years later. L.A. beating Chicago is the constant battles against an opponent who is always just a little bit better, the one who proves you're very good, but never the very best. U.S. vs. Soviets is that rare mythic battle. Chicago vs. L.A. is the real-life close, repeated defeats that make you put limits on yourself because your best is still just second-best, until that one day when you reach down deep inside and pull out more than you thought you had and you find that finally, you had it in you to beat the one who kept defeating you. Now those self-imposed limits have been ground down, you have had a paradigm shift, and you start to look at other challenges a lot differently.

Or you just think it was a harder-fought contest and say, "What a series!"

I'm not that emotional but the win against Chicago meant a lot to me.

 

[FrozenKing18]

Were there any memorable hits this year? All I can remember is Kopitar-Torres and Muzzin-Kruger.

2012, we had Richards-Burrows, Brown-Sedin, Brown-Pietrangelo, Brown-Roszival, Brown-Parise, Martinez-Zajac

 

[damacles1156]

The Sharks choke job, It's all gravy after that.

 

[kovacro]

Both goals in OT to clinch series by Jazz Hands.

Also, the silence in the Shart Tank in the 3rd period of Game 7 was classic and the Doug Wilson reaction once the Kings buried the 4th goal.

 

[Quattro]

Obviously A-Mart's series winners are #1 and #2 but I'd add the stick tapping for Selanne after game 7 vs the Ducks to the list

 

[TheSentinel]

Obviously A-Mart's series winners are #1 and #2 but I'd add the stick tapping for Selanne after game 7 vs the Ducks to the list

Why do you gotta go all classy on us?

 

[ratopok]

I thought going against Chi. would be our biggest challenge, considering what happened the prior season. But to be the BEST, you have to beat the best, which were the prior Stanley cup champs, B-Hawks. If we didn't win in game 7, there would be no game 5 vs NY option. So thats why I went with beating Chi.. No doubt A-Marts GWG vs NY in game 5 was the most exciting moment...

 

[KingsKnight]

Adding to the list, Gabby's two goals in game 1 against the ducks are right there at the top for me. I honestly believe winning that game the way we did got us game 2 as well. The ducks came out flat in game 2 because of that. If he hadn't gotten those goals we might have been out against the ducks and that would have been awfulx100.

 

[HYORI 1963]

Obviously A-Mart's series winners are #1 and #2 but I'd add the stick tapping for Selanne after game 7 vs the Ducks to the list

Ooh, nice call dude, I like it!

 

[takk]

Were there any memorable hits this year? All I can remember is Kopitar-Torres and Muzzin-Kruger.

2012, we had Richards-Burrows, Brown-Sedin, Brown-Pietrangelo, Brown-Roszival, Brown-Parise, Martinez-Zajac

Hossa got Brown pretty good one time.

 

[Riposte!]

Adding to the list, Gabby's two goals in game 1 against the ducks are right there at the top for me. I honestly believe winning that game the way we did got us game 2 as well. The ducks came out flat in game 2 because of that. If he hadn't gotten those goals we might have been out against the ducks and that would have been awfulx100.

This for me. That was when I started to believe for real.

 

[serenity now]

To me, the biggest moment was when Quickie went over to the bench at the end of game 2 in San Jose and went down the line pumping up all of his teammates. Any other goalie would have wanted to hide or get swallowed in the ice but not Quick. He still believed his team could win and he was right.

The clip of Coach'e Corner on HNIC is one of the greatest. Cherry nails it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KORASaS75WM

 

[KingsCorona]

I couldn't choose 1, or even 2.

If I HAD to I'd say the winner against Chicago -- overtime goal in Game 7 against our toughest opponent by far. We could easily have lost that and been eliminated by Chicago 2 years in a row, but instead we showed that we are the Hawks equal in one of the best series I've seen in a long time. It was the highest hurdle on the way to the Cup, and the biggest statement about our team in a broader sense.

That said, for pure wonderful-feeling entertainment, it's you can't really say that completing the epic comeback against the Sharks or winning the Stanley Effing Cup is any less joyful or exciting.