LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Kings are the new champions of the Stanley Cup after defeating the New York Rangers on June 13. Let’s just say Friday the 13th proved to be a very lucky day for the Kings, but it was a dogfight to the end in one of the longest Stanley Cup finals game in history with the Kings and Rangers going into over-time twice.
Justin Williams got the Rangers on the board with 6 minutes left in the first period on a backhand shot. The Kings would strike back with a goal from Chris Kreider with a tip-in in the second period. With the game tied, the Rangers were determined to keep the series going for a Game 6 with a goal from Brian Boyle in the final seconds of the second period, giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
The Kings needed a goal to tie the game, and saw that happen in the third period thanks to a wrist shot by Marian Gaborik, which sent the game into overtime. Both teams battled in the first overtime, with no success of a goal from either team.
The superstar for the Kings, Alec Martinez scored the winning goal off a wrist shot that gave the Kings their second Stanley Cup championship in three seasons. To celebrate the goal, Martinez took off his gloves and hoisted his stick into the air.
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was a beast on the net making more than 28 saves in the game, more than half of those saves came during overtime. Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist had 48 saves in the game. The city of Los Angeles celebrated the team’s victory with a parade through the streets of Los Angeles that ended inside the Staples Center on Monday, June 16.
The Kings hosted a parade that traveled throughout three South Bay cities on June 18 that included Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach starting at 3 p.m. The parade began at the Redondo Beach Police Department and ended at the intersection of Manhattan Avenue and Manhattan Beach Boulevard.
By LaDale Anderson
