Stanley Cup Finals Kick Off Tuesday With Media Day In Newark

Kings, Devils Set For Stanley Cup Finals 2 Years After Ilya Kovalchuk Battle

It's been two years since the Devils and Kings battled for free agent Ilya Kovalchuk's services. Now, New Jersey will try to beat L.A. with No. 17's help.

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: New Jersey Devils Claim The Redemption Cup

By beating the New York Rangers in overtime in Game 6 exactly 18 years after Mark Messier's famous guarantee, the New Jersey Devils relieved a pain that has hurt Devils fans repeatedly despite three Cup wins since 1994. Even if the Devils fall in the finals, they've accomplished something not even those Cup wins could.

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: Lou Lamoriello Needed Half A Season To Believe Devils Could Contend

Though New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello is never short on confidence, he will admit that it took a while for him to believe his team could make the run it has, all the way to the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals

"You like to think every team you ever have has a chance," Lamoriello told the assembled press at Media Day in Newark. "I don't think we ever did until halfway through the year."

Lamoriello has run the Devils with what some would call an iron fist since 1988, and has already built three Stanley Cup winners, so he knows what it takes to win. When the coaching staff, led by Peter DeBoer, gained total credibility with his team, Lamoriello knew there was the potential for something special.

"The communication they had with the players and the way the players bought into the system, both veterans and young players -- anytime we had any adversity, [we] came out of it quickly, no looking back," he said. "It's probably one of the best teams we've had as far as chemistry."

It's no coincidence, perhaps, that the team coming together halfway through the year has a lot to do with the trades he made around that time, acquiring forward Alexei Ponikarovsky from the Carolina Hurricanes, and defenseman Marek Zidlicky from the Minnesota Wild.

"What we saw when we got to halfway through the year, we didn't really have the depth on the lower end of our lines," Lamoriello said. "No disrespect, but to do maybe some of the things that you could take ice team away from the veterans. We had our veterans killing penalties, maybe giving too many minutes. Our focus was how can we get our fourth line better, where they could take some of the top minutes away if we could continue to use our top players."

The trades -- as well as the moves to call up Steve Bernier and Stephen Gionta -- were mostly a matter of right place, right time.

"Poni was available at that time because of where Carolina was," Lamoriello said. "We knew of him. We certainly saw enough of him in Toronto. We thought he would be a perfect fit as far as a player that would go up and down in weight, size and strength. Bernie, we knew we had in the minors.

"It was just a case of getting him here. We had signed him. He was in great shape and he was hungry. He committed himself to go to the minors and prove it, then he broke his wrist. Then he became healthy, we got him back once he was healthy. We felt good with that because we had [Jacob Josefson]. Then [Josefson] gets hurt and we have to have a center. We went the safe way, Gionta. So he's come in seamless. Now we have a fourth line."

Bringing it all together is another move that Lamoriello is now getting a lot of credit for, hiring a then out-of-work DeBoer as somewhat of a surprise choice to coach this team. Lamoriello says that despite DeBoer's record in Florida and having never made the post-season, he was impressed.

"We played against Florida a lot over the three years," Lamoriello said. "It was always remarkable how they competed no matter where they were in the standings. I knew he was a very hard coach on his players because he didn't want to accept anything but the best out of them. That to me was a positive because he might have wanted success, maybe didn't have the talent to get there."

There's no doubt Lamoriello and DeBoer have a team that has shown it has the talent after surprising most of the prognosticators and coming within four wins of a Stanley Cup.

Stick with SBNation.com for full Stanley Cup Finals coverage. For more on the New Jersey Devils, check out Devils blog In Lou We Trust. For more on the Los Angeles Kings, check out Jewels From The Crown and SB Nation Los Angeles.

Martin Brodeur Looms Large For Devils Young And Old

As he prepares for his fifth Stanley Cup Finals, some of the younger New Jersey Devils talked about their first time meeting and hearing of future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur.

What TV Ratings To Expect When You're Expecting A Kings Vs. Devils Final

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: Devils Fans Not Scared Of Kings' Challenge

The Los Angeles Kings may be favorites to win the Stanley Cup entering these 2012 Finals against the Devils, but given how the playoffs have unfolded so far this year for New Jersey, there's nothing to make fans in North Jersey believe that their team can't bring home the Cup this season.

For starters, the Devils were able to roll through the rival Philadelphia Flyers with ease in the Conference Semifinal round, and in the Conference Final, they were able to finally get the New York Rangers monkey off their backs. So while they prepare to face the Kings, who themselves have steamrolled through the entire Western Conference on their way to the Campbell Bowl, there's not much that Devils fans think can stop their team. Via In Lou We Trust:

The Devils have dealt with teams that were better on paper in some or most areas and still won. They won games they deserved from the run of play. They won some games they were out-played in. They have built up some leads that were protected and others that were blown - which not deter the Devils. They've matched lines in some games, and in others they just rolled them or mixed them.

They came from behind in games and in the first round to win. They took games into OT and won them. Players played through pain and mistakes and misfortunes and still found ways to produce, excel, and succeed. What can the Kings do that New Jersey hasn't been through before in this very postseason? My understanding and the emotions have the same answer: nothing.

Stick with SBNation.com for full Stanley Cup Finals coverage. For more on the New Jersey Devils, check out Devils blog In Lou We Trust. For more on the Los Angeles Kings, check out Jewels From The Crown and SB Nation Los Angeles.

By Reaching Stanley Cup Finals, New Jersey Devils Have Erased 1994 Demons

The New Jersey Devils have been one of the most successful franchises in the NHL over the last 20 years, but as it faced the New York Rangers in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, it still felt like something was missing to the team and its fans. They may have three Cups since 1995, but the Devils have still felt that the burden of those hated Rangers had yet to be overcome.

Now, that's all in the past. Via Devils blog In Lou We Trust:

I can think of no better way to erase the memories of the mid 90's than the way things unfolded. The Devils not only advanced, but crushed the hopes of Ranger fans in the process. Whether it was key Devil third period/overtime game winning goals in games the Rangers had fought back to tie or watching their team embarrass themselves when losing (see Rupp, Mike) this series had a bit of everything to break the black hearts of Ranger fans.

Stick with SBNation.com for full Stanley Cup Finals coverage. For more on the New Jersey Devils, check out Devils blog In Lou We Trust. For more on the Los Angeles Kings, check out Jewels From The Crown and SB Nation Los Angeles.

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: Florida Panthers Fans Not Surprised By Pete DeBoer's Devils

The New Jersey Devils struggled through the first round of these 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, needing back-to-back overtime wins in Games 6 and 7 just to fend off the Florida Panthers, the consensus worst team in the postseason this year. One of the major storylines in that series was that of Devils head coach Pete DeBoer, who was fired less than a calendar year ago by the Panthers as they overhauled the entire organization down in Sunrise, Fla.

Despite the firing and the relative success achieved by Florida during the 2011-12 season, however, Panthers fans are not surprised about the success seen by DeBoer in these playoffs. Via Litter Box Cats:

Granted DeBoer was gifted to a roster light years ahead of the ones he had in Florida, but don't let that guide you to the conclusion the roster makes the coach. DeBoer still makes questionable line swaps and keeps his emotions under lock and key, but these nuances don't mean much when a coach transitions so smoothly into a new environment and perfectly compliments the makeup of his team.

DeBoer wasn't stupid, he was calculated. He went through the same learning curve as current Panthers coach [Kevin] Dineen is going through, the only difference is that Dineen was equip with a purpose. Both had their shortcomings, but Dineen's weren't highlighted since his team was winning. DeBoer never had that luxury, and when he was fired fans knew he wasn't quite to blame, it was just a necessary change.

Stick with SBNation.com for full Stanley Cup Finals coverage. For more on the New Jersey Devils, check out Devils blog In Lou We Trust. For more on the Los Angeles Kings, check out Jewels From The Crown and SB Nation Los Angeles.

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: Comparing The Goaltenders

The matchup of goaltenders in the Stanley Cup Finals is a classic scenario of the younger upstart attempting to out-play the wily, old veteran as two of the game's best go head-to-head.

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: NHL.com To Let Fans 'Choose Own Adventure' On Media Day

Stanley Cup Finals Media Day 2012 To Be Held Tuesday At Prudential Center

The 2012 Stanley Cup Finals are officially here. The Los Angeles Kings have made the cross-country trek to Newark, N.J., home of the New Jersey Devils, for Games 1 and 2 of the Finals, and both teams will skate on the Prudential Center ice on Tuesday morning. After practice, the teams will meet for Media Day, which you can find on NHL.com and NHL Network.

The Devils will practice at the AmeriHealth Pavilion, their practice facility attached to the Prudential Center, at 11 a.m. ET time. They'll meet with the media at 1 p.m. The Kings will practice on the main sheet of ice at Prudential Center at noon and will meet with the media at 2 p.m.

We'll be reporting live from Newark all afternoon, so be sure to stick with SBNation.com for full coverage of both Media Day and the entire 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.

For more from the Devils perspective, check in with In Lou We Trust and SB Nation New York. For more from the Kings perspective, check in with Jewels From The Crown, Battle of California and SB Nation Los Angeles.

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: Devils Will Need Special Teams Edge

Given the Kings' success in 5-on-5 play, the Devils are the team in greater need of a special teams edge. If they get that edge, they can make this a long series.

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: Drew Doughty Gives Kings Defense Edge Over Devils

The Devils' run to the final is marked by a surprisingly faceless blueline, while the Kings are led by star defenseman Drew Doughty.

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: Devils, Kings Offenses Keyed By In-Season Moves

Both the Kings and Devils made big in-season moves to improve their offense -- and key their respective trips to the Stanley Cup Final.

Devils, Kings Matchup A Classic Battle Of Like-Styled Clubs

Two clubs with very similar styles will commence their battle for the Stanley Cup beginning Wednesday, and the battle to control the walls, dominate territorial play via the forecheck, and getting traffic in front of the opposing goalie may all end up being contributing factors for the eventual victor.

Stanley Cup Finals Schedule 2012: New Jersey Devils Have Home-Ice Edge Vs. Los Angeles Kings

The 2012 Stanley Cup Finals are set. With the New Jersey Devils victory over the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final on Friday night, they've clinched the Prince of Wales Trophy and will host the Los Angeles Kings, holders of the Clarence Campbell Bowl as Western champs, in Game 1 of the Finals on Wednesday.

The Devils earned the home-ice advantage by virtue of owning a better regular season record. New Jersey finished the regular season with 102 points compared to L.A.'s 95.

The full schedule:

Stick with SBNation.com for full Stanley Cup Finals coverage. For more on the New Jersey Devils, check out Devils blog In Lou We Trust. For more on the Los Angeles Kings, check out Jewels From The Crown and SB Nation Los Angeles.

Stanley Cup Finals 2012: Why The Los Angeles Kings Will Win It All

The Kings are a team that can outplay you and beat you without needing a savior in goal. But that savior helped them squeak into the playoffs, and now he's helped assure a swift trip to the Stanley Cup Final.