One thimg I will say though is hopefully the market here can grab the majority of the tickets in this series quickly since there will be plenty of Kings Fans from California coming in to visit. Hopefully we can get as many Coyotes Fans to the Game in Staples Center as well.
Phoenix wins because: Dave Tippett, Mike Smythe's ability to play the puck, Coyotes have a good chunk of game experience against Quick, top-notch blueline depth, and an energetic, surprisingly productive bottom six
LA wins because: More skill on the top line, Coyotes could have a hard time solving a red-hot goalie, Drew Doughty should not be underestimated, Dustin Brown does a brilliant Shane Doan impression (That's not a jab at Brown, by the way. I'm going to hate his effing guts before the end of his first shift in Game 1, but I'm a fan of his game.)
My feeling is that LA and Phoenix are almost identical, with LA being a bit more top-heavy and Phoenix relying more on its defense and bottom six. The Coyotes still look like the underdogs, which suits them fine. It's hard to imagine either Smith or Quick imploding at this point. It's going to come down to who stays healthy and who gets the bounces.
hi guys, Panthers fans coming in peace. Just wanted to drop by and say hi and congratulations on a sick season. You guys have a great team and I enjoy watching them. From a FLA Panthers fan love to see southern teams have success. You guys keep rockin' on!
So, the next Pitt/Philly? Cause that is what I envision.
Those games at the end of the regular season were getting pretty vicious.
One big difference - instead of 13 goals in a game (as seen twice in the PHL/PIT series).......you may only see 13 goals in the entire Yotes/Kings series!
I like that Doan has brought back his physical Doan-zilla edge for the first time since Hossa went off in the stretcher. We are going to need Doan-zilla against LA. We don't need the penalties, but the physicality will be required. We're really going to miss Torres this series, too. The bright side is that Boedker, Vermette, Korpikoski, Pyatt, Brule, and Langkow have really stepped up their physical game in the post-season. Chipchura and Gordon always bring it. Hanzal could step it up a bit, but we don't need it out Whitney or Vrbata.
Haha the Kings board is trying to "Invade" Jobing.com arena. There's going to be 150 Kings fans, max.
Eh, probably more than that. More than Nashville less than Chicago most likely. Not really an issue, even in the Wings series it was way overblown by internet commandos how many Wings fans there were.
I second that notion although it would be awesome to see a David versus Goliath match-up with the Rangers.
One team who spends to the cap against the other who is assembled with bargain basement players with something to prove. A Coyotes win in such case may make owners think twice about throwing $$$ around in an attempt to build a championship winning team.
Regardless, kudos to DM and the job he has done with this unheralded group led by Dave Tippett and Sean Burke. They continue to disprove all the so called experts with what sometimes appears to be smoke and mirrors.
A Stanley Cup Final appearance is just what "uncle Gary" ordered.
Why do the Coyotes feel like the Cinderella team when they finished 3rd and the Kings finished 8th?
It seems like the Kings were always expected to contend this year, and they finally started playing like contenders at the end of the regular season.
Plus, people tend to follow the names. Aside from Mike Smythe, the Coyotes' best-known players right now are guys like Ray Whitney and Keith Yandle. Ekman-Larsson is getting noticed, but outside of Phoenix, he's still not high on anyone's list of impact players. For the Kings, it's guys like Carter, Kopitar, Richards, Doughty, and Quick. World of difference in terms of name recognition.
