Kings in Chicago as NHL Stanley Cup playoffs get serious

CHICAGO -- The Stanley Cup playoffs are getting down to serious business with the Kings scheduled to practice in Chicago later Friday as they prepare for the Western Conference finals against the Blackhawks.

This postseason marks only the second time in NHL history that the four remaining teams are also the last four Cup winners.

That’s good news for a league battling to erase memories of a lockout-shortened season, but Kings Coach Darryl Sutter believes all the focus and accolades belong elsewhere.

Namely in Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Los Angeles.

“I think it says something about the organizations,” Sutter said. “It’s got nothing to do with the league.”

In this salary cap era, franchises in all sports have found it increasingly difficult to remain competitive season after season. Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi made it his top priority over the off-season to keep his core of young talent intact.

Talking about his team and the rest of the final four, Sutter said: “It tells you something about the ability to sustain and how hard it is to win.”

As for the last time the four previous champs ended up in the conference finals? It was 1945 with Montreal, Toronto, Chicago and Boston.

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