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Opinion

Editorial: L.A.’s Kings: They’re hockey royalty once again

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Kings players celebrate winning the Stanley Cup as Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist looks on.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
2/31
Kings Captain Dustin Brown carries the Stanley Cup around the ice for the second time in three years at Staples Center after the Kings defeated the Rangers, 3-2 in double overtime in June.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings players crowd together for a team photo after winning the Stanley Cup at Staples Center.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Streamers fall from the Staples Centers rafters after the Kings defeated the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in June to clinch the championship series.  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
5/31
Kings defenseman Alec Martinez leaps off the ice after beating Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist with a shot to end Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in double overtime, 3-2, at Staples Center.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
6/31
Kings teammates Kyle Clifford (13) and Slava Voynov (26) embrace defensemen Alec Martinez and Tyler Toffoli (73) prepares to join in after Martinez scored the winning goal against the Rangers to end Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in double overtime.   (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings forward Tyler Toffoli skates toward teammates Drew Doughty, Willie Mitchell and Martin Jones after the Kings defeated the Rangers and goalie Henrik Lundqvist in double overtime on Friday night.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
8/31
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stares at the helmet- and glove-strewn ice after the Kings clinched the Stanley Cup title with a double-overtime win in Game 5.   (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings fans cheer the players as they celebrate their double-overtime victory over the Rangers on Friday night.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings winger Justin Williams, who was selected most valuable player of the playoffs, takes his turn to skate with the Stanley Cup on Friday night.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings fans celebrate after Los Angeles’ 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers in double overtime of Game 5.  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings right wing Dustin Brown dives past Rangers defenseman Marc Staal (18) and left winger Mats Zuccarello (36) to attempt a shot against goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in the third period of Game 5 on Friday night at Staples Center.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
13/31
Kings right wing Dustin Brown ends up underneath Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in the crease as teammate Marian Gaborik and Rangers defensemen Marc Staal (18) and Anton Stralman (6) look for the puck in the third period.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Rangers defenseman John Moore and Kings forward Kyle Clifford collide along the boards as they chase the puck in the third period.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings right wing Dustin Brown clips Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi in the chin with his stick as they cross paths in the second period.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist searches for the puck as defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) and Dan Girardi battle for position with Kings right wing Marian Gaborik (12) in the third period.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Rangers left wing Chris Kreider flips the puck past Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick for a goal in the second period of Game 5 on Friday night at Staples Center.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Rangers left wing Chris Kreider points to teammate Ryan McDonagh (not pictured) who fed him a pass that led to a score against Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick and defenseman Matt Greene (2) in the second period.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Rangers players celebrate after scoring their first goal in the second period against goaltender Jonathan Quick and the Kings.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
20/31
Kings forward Kyle Clifford (13) watches Henrik Lundqvist stop his shot in the second period of Game 5.   (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Rangers left wing Mats Zuccarello sends a shot through the crease past Kings defenseman Alec Martinez, forcing goaltender Jonathan Quick to make a save in the second period.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick can’t stop a shot by Rangers center Brian Boyle (not pictured) late in the second period.   (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings right wing Justin Williams (14) gets his stick on a rebound of a teammate’s blocked shot and prepares to score against the Rangers in the first period of Game 5 on Friday night at Staples Center.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
24/31
Kings and Rangers players, as well as goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, look for the puck in the back of the net after Justin Williams (not pictured) put a rebound past the scrum in front of the crease.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings forward Dwight King (74) and center Jarret Stoll, right, celebrate after teammate Justin Williams (not pictured) scored against the Rangers in the first period.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings teammates surround right wing Justin Williams after he scored early in the first period against the Rangers in Game 5 on Friday night.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick takes a moment to gather himself after he was struck in the head by Rangers forward Benoit Pouliot in the first period.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings center Jarret Stoll has his shot blocked by Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist in the first period.   (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings fans Jake and Hillary Westphal sport crazy hair as they show their excitement before game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A Kings fan, who did not want to be identified, offers to shave his beard for a ticket to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night at Staples Center.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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LAPD mounted police officers keep an eye on fans before Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center on Friday night.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
By The Times Editorial Board
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It’s back. The Stanley Cup, that gigantic silver chalice of the religion of the National Hockey League, will spend another year in a beach town that never sees ice on winter streets and rarely has kids with sticks going off to play at a rink. Hockey may not be the game most identified with L.A. (basketball and baseball come more to mind) but that could change if the Los Angeles Kings keep winning at this rate. For the second time in three seasons, the Kings have clinched the National Hockey League championship, this time in a dazzling come-from-behind postseason performance. If there were an Oscar for sports drama, they would have won that too. On Friday evening, they beat the New York Rangers four games to one at Staples Center to reclaim the coveted trophy.

It took the team 45 years to win the cup the first time, in 2012. The second championship came along much sooner to a team that has become known for serviceable play during the regular season and then turbo-charging during the postseason to come back from seemingly hopeless deficits. As Kings coach Darryl Sutter said this week: “We got thrown under the bus by everybody on Earth seven weeks ago.”

That’s over. Now the only thing the players will be struggling to get out from under is that enormous goblet they all get to hoist on their shoulders and take to each of their homes for a day. Then the cup hits the road for various appearances. How much do you love that people all over the city get to take “selfies” with the Stanley Cup? The whole city never got to try on the Lakers’ NBA championship rings.

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FOR THE RECORD

An earlier version of this post reported that the Kings won their second NHL title in two years. The Kings won their second championship in three seasons.

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The last time the Stanley Cup arrived, the town was mired in the drama of the Dodgers changing hands from the embattled, disliked Frank McCourt to the ambitious Guggenheim group, which paid an extravagant $2.15 billion for the team. This time, the town is embroiled in the drama of the Clippers, which seem likely to change hands from the embattled, widely despised Donald Sterling to the brash Steve Ballmer, who is offering an extravagant $2 billion for the team.

With the Kings, the drama is all on the ice. That’s refreshing. At Madison Square Garden, they wrestled with a stubborn go-and-stop puck that halted achingly, astonishingly short of the New York Rangers’ goal line, ultimately dashing their hopes of turning Game 4 into a 4-0 sweep of the championship series. Interestingly, they also swept the first three games of the 2012 finals before losing two games, then winning Game 6. This time, fans only had to wait for Game 5.

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It’s always exhilarating to have the hometown team win a championship. But there’s something especially sweet about a title win by the team that’s not the coolest one in town, or the one with the most attention-grabbing players or the most conflict-ridden front offices. And there’s something even more triumphant when that team proves it can do it again.

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The Los Angeles Times’ editorial board determines the positions of The Times as an institution. It operates separately from the newsroom. You can read more about the board’s mission and its members at About The Times Editorial Board.

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