It’s an odd distinction but a fun one to note nonetheless. Kings teammates Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene have been in this position once before.
Back in 2006, they were members of the Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers when they stunned the NHL on their way to a seven game series with Carolina where they ultimately fell short of winning the Stanley Cup. Now in 2012 they’re part of a team looking to pull off a similarly stunning run and as Rich Hammond of the Kings’ website finds out from Greene, the way the story is playing out this time around is playing out much differently.
“It’s a lot different,” Greene said. “There, it was a real underdog story. I don’t think anybody picked us to really do too well. Here, it’s different. We’ve been labeled underachieves for a lot of the year, and now guys got hot at the right time. There are a lot of similarities too. There, there was a lot of secondary scoring, which I think you need to get in order to get to the Finals. Our top players were our top players every night on that team, and they are on this team, too.”
The Kings now are underdogs in the sense they’re eighth seed in the West. With how they’re playing they don’t look that way. Remember, this was a team that was two points away from winning their division. This team plays dominantly on the road and all four lines play strong.
Having gotten a taste of the good life once before, Stoll and Greene, along with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter who had their chance to win in 2010 with Philly, won’t want to be let down again.