Kings facts

* The Kings were founded in 1967 as part of the NHL's first major expansion that added six new franchises and doubled the size of the league. The other new franchises were the California Seals, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues.

* Currently play in the Pacific Division of the 15-team Western Conference and have made the playoffs 24 times, but had never won the Stanley Cup.

* Won their first and only divisional title in 1991 after luring Wayne Gretzky to California. Two years later, they won their first conference championship but lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final.

* During the 2011-12 regular season, the Kings (40-27-15) finished third in their division and squeezed into the playoffs as the eighth-ranked team in the Western Conference.

* Upset the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs, swept the second-seed St. Louis Blues in the second round, beat the third-seed Phoenix Coyotes in the West final and topped the Devils in the Stanley Cup final.

* The Kings went 16-4 in the 2012 playoffs and lost just one road game in four best-of-seven playoff rounds.

* The Kings head coach is Canadian Darryl Sutter, a former NHL forward with the Chicago Blackhawks. As a coach, he has been in charge of Chicago, San Jose and the Calgary Flames. He took the Flames to the Stanley Cup in 2004, losing to Tampa Bay. This was his first season with the Kings.

* The captain is American right wing Dustin Brown, who has been with the Kings since he was selected by them in the 2003 draft. Brown represented the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal.

* Starting goalie Jonathan Quick is a Vezina Trophy finalist for top goalie this year after carrying a Kings team that ranked 29th overall in offense to a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs and leading all NHL goalies with a franchise-record 10 shutouts.

Reuters

(China Daily 06/13/2012 page22)