When the Los Angeles Kings lost the fourth game of the Stanley Cup Finals to the New Jersey Devils last Wednesday, there was no reason to panic for the Kings.
A missed opportunity to achieve the first Stanley Cup Finals sweep in 14 years probably stung, of course, not to mention the opportunity to celebrate the first Cup win in team history in front of fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. However, after losing Game 4 in the first round against the Vancouver Canucks and again in the Western Conference finals against the Phoenix Coyotes, only to go on and win each series in five games, it was easy enough to shrug off the loss as "business as usual" and go on to prepare for Game 6 on Saturday night in New Jersey.
After a 2-1 win by the Devils on Saturday night, however, "business as usual" is officially out the window. The Kings' perfect road record in these Stanley Cup Playoffs is gone, the illusion of dominance has been shattered, and the Kings are in a true battle for the Stanley Cup.
In truth, there's nothing about the Devils' 2-1 win at the Prudential Center that differed much from the general tone of the series: (with the exception, of course, of the Kings' dominant win in Game 3). Both teams had chances, and neither side truly dominated. The only difference was that the Devils made one more play than the Kings, where the opposite was true in the first two games of the series.
However, what changes now is that where the Kings once seemed to be cruising towards the most celebrated trophy in sports, they're now in a situation where just about anything seems possible. Just under a week ago, the Devils were in the position of having to do something that had only been done three times in NHL history (and just once in the Stanley Cup Finals) and win four consecutive elimination games. Now, they've already made history, becoming the first team since 1945 to force Game 6 after falling behind 3-0.
The Kings probably aren't concerned. They know exactly what the Devils knew after the first two games: that these games will be close, and in all likelihood, Monday night's game at the Staples Center will come down to which team makes one more play. The looming specter of Game 7 in New Jersey will not be discussed in the Kings' locker room.
On the outside, however, it's remarkable how different the feeling is heading into Game 6 than it was just a week ago.
