Road to the Finals: Defeated Vancouver Canucks, 4-1; St. Louis Blues, 4-0; Phoenix Coyotes, 4-1. The Kings eliminated the top three seeds in the Western Conference, something last achieved by the 2003-04 Calgary Flames. Along the way, the Kings are 12-2 — boasting two fewer losses than teams eliminated in the first round and four fewer losses than the Devils. In fact, of the 16 playoff series played so far, seven have reached at least six games — meaning the Kings have fewer losses in three rounds combined than some teams did in one series.

Leading Scorers: Dustin Brown (seven goals, nine assists); Anze Kopitar (six goals, nine assists); Mike Richards (four goals, seven assists); Justin Williams (two goals, nine assists).

Why They Will Win: The Kings have that rare ability to combine an amazing offense with a stifling defense. L.A. has averaged 2.93 goals per game so far, while allowing just 1.57 goals per game — the only team in the league to give up fewer than two goals per game. While their power play is inept (8.1 percent), their penalty kill is deadly (91.2 percent). Not to be discounted is the fact the Kings have only played 14 playoff games — four fewer than the Devils. Rest will give them the same great advantage that they’ve had in previous rounds, when they’ve won the first two games (all on the road) in each series. Being able to do that against the Devils might possibly clinch it for them, although the Devils are 6-4 on the road (including two victories against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden).

Read more at Fanspeak.com.