If somebody told me before the playoffs began that the Stanley Cup Finals would feature the LA Kings and the New Jersey Devils I would have looked at them like they were crazy. But here we are with the two teams ready to do battle for Lord Stanley’s Cup this Wednesday and each team has earned the right to be here. The 8th seeded LA Kings knocked off the top 3 seeds in the West (Canucks, Blues and Coyotes) losing only 2 games on their way to the finals, while the Devils ousted the Panthers, Flyers and Rangers.
LA Kings vs New Jersey Devils Betting Odds
Los Angeles Kings -170
New Jersey Devils +160
The Kings are favoured heading into the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals because of their dominance throughout the first 3 rounds of the playoffs. Sportsbook 5Dimes.eu has the best odds for both the Kings and Devils so if you are planning on wagering on this series you should do so at 5Dimes.eu. Visit 5Dimes now to bet on this series.
LA Kings vs New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup Finals Prediction
The Kings were able to bulldoze their way through the Western Conference because their team, which had all the pieces in place, came together at the right time and starting playing like they could. Dustin Brown lead the way with some clutch scoring and leadership, while Kopitar picked up right where he left off the regular season putting up 15 points in 14 games, just 1 less than Brown. Drew Doughty also found his game recording 10 points and Jonathan Quick didn’t skip a beat even when his team was dominating, keeping the puck out while called upon.
The Devils had a scare in the first round against who should have been their easiest opponent as they were down 3-2 against the Panthers before fighting back to win in 7. This theme of finishing off the series strong was maintained when they won 4 straight to defeat Philly after being down 1-0 and then winning 3 straight against the Rangers after being down 2-1 after 3. Ilya Kovalchuk has really come to play in these playoffs scoring 18 points in 17 games, although he is a -4. The biggest story may be Bryce Salvador who has been arguably the best defenseman in these playoffs and who is finally getting the recognition he deserves. He is a +10 with 11 points to lead the New Jersey defensemen in scoring (pretty good for a guy who had only 9 assists in 82 regular season games – although he was still a +18). Brodeur has also came to play with a 2.04 GAA and .923 save percentage.
The Kings should have an edge in every aspect of the ice in this series. Their forwards have more depth, their defensemen have more offensive ability and their goaltender has proved he is one of, if not the best in the game today. The Devils have shown the heart and drive to come back in series, but the Kings have just been purely dominant winning the first 3 games in each series. I expect the Kings to come out flying once again and I think the fewer games played will help them, especially with the Conference Finals being contested with a team from their division. The Western Conference generally has to travel much more in the playoffs, but this year that hasn’t really been the case for the Kings and that should result in a fresh team that is playing unbelievably well. Brodeur will not get frazzled by the big stage, but I think Quick has proven he is more than capable of taking his team to the promise land.
Play: Kings -170 (5Dimes.eu)
Check out our past NHL predictions to see how I’ve done so far in these playoffs. My NHL playoff record sits at (29-25) for +5.46 units.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
Tagged with: Los Angeles Kings betting • New Jersey Devils betting • Stanley Cup Finals betting