6 Goals

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Leading the series 3-2 but having dropped back-to-back nail-biters. What a night to explode offensively and take almost all the drama out of the room so that those of us cheering on the Kings could relax and just enjoy what we had waited so long to witness.

The Kings did not score 6 goals once this season. Seriously, go back and look. They, Minnesota, and the Islanders were the only teams in the entire league that didn't do it at least one time. They hit 5 on a couple of occasions, including once in the playoffs against St. Louis, but never broke that figure.



So when was the last time the Kings put up a half-dozen? January 8, 2011, the 41st game of the 2010-11 season, the exact midpoint of the year. The visitor at Staples Center then was the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets. On that night Jarret Stoll scored a pair and former King, current BJ Jack Johnson notched 3 assists. Jonathan Quick stopped 30 of 34 shots and the Kings triumphed 6-4. The stupidest man in the world Ryan Smyth had a goal and an assist in that game. He had a Molson and a Labatt during last night's because he watched it from his house in Edmonton. Fool!

How different it was 17 months and 3 days later on the same ice when the Kings overwhelmed the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils with their Hall of Fame goalie and unshakeable confidence that was supposedly going to lead them back from the brink. The Kings never let them have a sniff in that game, rattling off three power play goals in the early going on the same 5-minute major power play before adding an early second period goal by sniper Jeff Carter, and the late empty netter by Trevor Lewis. At that point, you had to think the scoring was done, right? I mean, the Kings just don't score 6 goals!

But then Matt Green's unexpected "rocket" from the point with only a few minutes to play whistled by Brodey, and the six-goal night drought was over. And what a night for it! The Kings were coronated as Stanley Cup Champions in style with a blowout win demonstrating their dominance of the National Hockey League this spring and their best offensive output in 143 games.