Blackhawks vs. Kings Game 7 final score: Los Angeles advances to Stanley Cup Finals

Jun 1, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Tyler Toffoli (73) celebrates with left wing Dwight King (74) after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period in game seven of the Western Conference Final of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 1, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Tyler Toffoli (73) celebrates with left wing Dwight King (74) after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period in game seven of the Western Conference Final of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tonight was a night we expected to see but it’s the journey here we didn’t. While the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings were both teams who we expected to grind hard, the quick swings both in the games and in the series as a whole has made this one of the more exciting postseason series we’ve seen in both hockey and basketball at the moment.

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After winning Game 1, the Blackhawks dropped their next three games to get into a 3-1 hole against the Kings. But while Los Angeles seemingly controlled the momentum, they let the next two games slip away from them to allow for a Game 7 back in Chicago.

Even in that game alone we saw the momentum go all over the place as the Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead that became a 3-2 lead for the King before Chicago tied it up. Los Angeles then went down 4-3 before tying the game in final moments of the period to force an overtime period in which everything was on the line.

It took a little while, but the Los Angeles Kings stayed tough throughout the game and a simple wristshot that deflected off of Nick Leddy proved to make the difference as the Kings are off to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The New York Rangers now await in the Stanley Cup and it’s a series that will hopefully reinvigorate hockey as a whole since two of the biggest markets in the country are involved. Aside from that, two of the best teams in the NHL are in the Stanley Cup and that’s going to make sure that not only major markets are watching, but hockey fans young and old are invested in what should be the best Stanley Cup we’ve seen in years.