Los Angeles Kings poised to win their first Stanley Cup

After all, the Kings barely made it into the postseason, and many expected them to go down to a first-round defeat.

But an unfortunate thing happened to downtown bar owners on the way to the Canucks' supposed long run in the playoffs: Dustin Brown and the Kings finished off the hallowed home-towners in five games.

And the Canucks failed to win a single match at Rogers Arena.

That fuelled some short-term speculation about the future of Coach Alain Vigneault.

Meanwhile, the Kings went on to sweep the previously impressive St. Louis Blues and then trounce the Phoenix Coyotes in five games.

Tonight, Los Angeles won their third straight against the New Jersey Devils, leaving the eighth-place Western Conference team just one victory away from capturing their first Stanley Cup.

The Kings finished off the Devils 4-0 at the Staples Center, setting the stage for a home-town victory on Wednesday (June 6). Remarkably, Los Angeles has not lost a single game on the road in the postseason.

Centre Anze Kopitar is tied with Ilya Kovalchuk of the Devils with 18 points in the playoffs. Kopitar has eight goals, which also puts him in the tie for the lead with two Philadelphia Flyers. Meanwhile, Brown has seven goals and 17 points.

Kopitar and Brown are both plus 15 in the playoffs, tying for first place. And Kings netminder Jonathan Quick has a .950 save percentage and three shutouts.

Even if Canucks centre Ryan Kesler were healthy in the first round, it's hard to see how his team could have bested the Kings, who, not surprisingly, have become the toast of Hollywood.