The rookie sensations, the ridiculous goaltending, the heroes, the disappointments: We tell the story of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs’ Eastern and Western conference finals through surprising statistics.
0 NHL teams to win the Stanley Cup after going to seven games in their first two rounds of the playoffs, as the New York Rangers did this year
2 eighth seeds to reach the Stanley Cup final, the 2006 Edmonton Oilers and the 2012 Los Angeles Kings
2 American captains, all-time, who will have lifted the Stanley Cup after the final; with the elimination of Canadian Shane Doan, Zach Parise or Dustin Brown will join Derian Hatcher (2009 Dallas Stars) in this exclusive club
4,000 fans, estimated, at the L.A. airport to greet the Western Conference champion Kings upon their return flight from Arizona
3 consecutive Stanley Cup winners that began their season playing in Europe: 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins, 2010 Chicago Blackhawks, 2011 Boston Bruins; the 2012 Los Angeles Kings also began their season overseas
$256,097.52 lost 2012-13 salary for the Coyotes’ Raffi Torres, who will finish serving the final 12 games of his suspension next season
15 points, in 14 games, for Los Angeles Kings’ 2012 Conn Smythe candidate Anze Kopitar
$24.99 price of a Los Angeles Kings 2012 Stanley Cup Finals Alex Kopitar name and number T-shirt at NHL.com’s shop
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6 NHL and NBA playoff games played in Los Angeles’ Staples Center from May 17 to May 20; in addition to home games for the Kings, Lakers and Clippers, the building also hosted the Amgen Tour of California cycling race on the same weekend
2:15 time, in hours and minutes, it takes to convert the Staples Center from a hockey rink to basketball court
1:30 time it takes to convert from basketball court to hockey rink
4 teams in the last 30 years to start the playoffs with a record of 11-1, as the Kings did; all three of the previous hot-starters lost in the Stanley Cup final
203; 132 total shots for the Kings and Coyotes, respectively, in their five-game series
60; 120 total penalty minutes for the Kings and Coyotes, respectively, in their series
12 seconds after Kings captain Dustin Brown was not penalized for a questionable knee-on-knee hit that teammate Dustin Penner scored the series-clinching overtime winner
2 series-clinching overtime winners scored by Devils Rookie of the Year candidate Adam Henrique, the most since Martin Gelinas did the same for the 2004 Calgary Flames
11 playoff points by Henrique, a new Devils franchise record; Scott Gomez had 10 points in 2000
5 playoff goals scored by Rangers rookie Chris Kreider, who has never played a regular-season game, breaking the old record of rookie Eddie Mazur, who potted four for the Montreal Canadiens in 1952 and 1953
10 jersey number of Dean Youngblood (b.k.a. Rob Lowe), who sent his congratulations to the Kings:
Congrats to The #StanleyCup bound LA #Kings from Dean Youngblood!!#NHL
— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) May 24, 2012
16 consecutive playoff games in which neither the Rangers nor their opponent scored more than three goals, the longest such streak since the Montreal Maroons had 17 straight from 1931 to 1935; the Rangers had limited their opponents to three goals or fewer in all 17 playoff games until the Devils won Game 4 by a score of 4-1
B2 page, of the Montreal Gazette, on which Kings’ Cup-bound coach Darryl Sutter is referred to as brother Brent in a large font
31 words, total, spoken by New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella in answers six questions at his pre-Game 1 press conference
30-45 minutes, by his own estimation, that Phoenix Coyotes two-time all-star defenceman Keith Yandle spent in each of an Arizona Best Buy, Home Depot and Fry’s Grocery Store without being recognized, despite being one of the best players on one of only four teams remaining in the playoffs
23-9 margin by which the Devils have outscored their playoff opponents in the first period
5 shorthanded points registered in the these playoffs by the Kings’ Dustin Brown
8 consecutive road victories for the Kings since this postseason began, a new NHL record
10 consecutive road playoff victories for the Kings (multi-season), a new NHL record
4 assists for Brodeur in the 2012 playoffs, setting a new NHL record for goaltenders
4 assists for Alex Ovechkin in the 2012 playoffs; he is a forward
1:47 time of Ilya Kovalchuk’s final shift at the end of the Devils’ Game 2 victory
$6.66 million salary of Kovalchuk, the highest-paid player in the Stanley Cup final but a guy who doesn’t crack the top 35 highest-paid players in the league
364:05 time, in minutes and seconds, that the Kings had not trailed in a game until the Coyotes scored first in Game 3
39 words uttered, total, by Rangers coach John Tortorella to answer six questions in his post-Game 2 press conference
1994 year of Rangers captain Mark Messier’s infamous Game 6 guarantee victory over the New Jersey Devils
1994 year New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer says he had hair