Dictionary.com defines the word "dynasty" as "a sequence of rulers from the same family, stock, or group". This applies to the sports version of the word as well, as a dynasty in sports is usually a label given to a franchise that has won several championships over a short period of time.
The last dynasty in hockey was arguably the Detroit Red Wings, who won three championships (1997,1998, 2002) in six seasons and four (2008) over a span of eleven years. The New Jersey Devils could also be considered a dynasty, winning three Stanley Cups (1995, 2000, 2003) in nine seasons.
Speaking of New Jersey, the Devils had the chance to win their fourth Stanley Cup back in the spring of 2012 as they faced a team from Southern California named the Kings. However, the Kings had been anything but. They had been skating on the ice passing around the burnt biscuit since the 1967-68 season without anything to show for it.
For a little over forty years, the Los Angeles Kings were more like the court jesters of the NHL. Sure Wayne Gretzky wore the black and silver for a while, but his only appearance in the Stanley Cup Final as a King resulted in a five-game slaughtering by the team whose name truly was synonymous with hockey royalty: the Montreal Canadiens.
However, 2012 became the year that the Kings were finally crowned as Stanley Cup Champions: a lowly eight-seed that became the first of its kind to win sixteen playoff games after a magical two-month run.
But was it a fluke? Plenty of fans tried to impeach the Kings as fakes after a slow start to the 2013 season. Head coach Daryl Sutter got his boys in gear, though, and Los Angeles went on to win two more playoff rounds before eventually being dethroned by the Chicago Blackhawks.
After winning their second championship in four seasons, talk involving the "d" word began to surround the Blackhawks. These thoughts would appear to be coming to fruition this past spring, as they coasted by the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild en route to their fourth appearance in the Western Conference Final in six seasons.
The team that the Blackhawks defeated in last year's Western Conference Final did not start off so smoothly. In fact, the Kings fell into a 3-0 death trap against the San Jose Sharks - and it wasn't pretty. The Sharks had pulled the Kings right into the water and it seemed like they wouldn't release their grip, smelling blood.
Los Angeles narrowly escaped the jaws of death in Game Four at home, but Game Five back at the Shark Tank in Northern California would surely result in drowning, right? Not if goaltender Jonathan Quick had anything to say about it. He shut out San Jose and delayed the dreaded handshake line again. Not only had the Kings avoided elimination - they had given themselves life. Win Game Six at home, tie the series and hope for some bounces in Game Seven. It wouldn't be easy, but it was still possible.
Quick stood tall again in Game Six as the Kings evened things up with a 4-1 victory, and again in Game Seven in one of the most hostile buildings in hockey, sending the Sharks packing to the tune of a 5-1 drubbing in San Jose. The Kings were on to Round Two and another California opponent: the Anaheim Ducks.
Anaheim was fantastic in the regular season, finishing with the best record in the Western Conference and the second best in all of hockey. The Kings were underdogs again, but they seemed to feel no pressure, winning each of the first two games on Anaheim's ice. However, the Ducks stormed back, taking the next three games and pushing the Kings to the brink yet again.
Quick was fantastic in another do-or-die Game Six, and the Kings followed it up with another four-goal win in a Game Seven on the road.
Los Angeles found itself in unfamiliar territory in the Western Conference Final against the dreaded Blackhawks, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead over a team that had its number as of late. The lead would not hold, however, as the Hawks took Game Five at home in double overtime and evened up the series in Los Angeles in a heartbreaking Game Six for Kings fans.
In order to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, the Kings would have to do something no team had ever done in NHL history before: win a third consecutive Game Seven. Not to mention all of them would have to come on the road. Sure enough, the Kings regained the throne in the Western Conference on an overtime goal by Alec Martinez (foreshadowing?), dethroning the team that had dethroned them the year before (yes, I am using the word throne as much as possible).
Then came the Stanley Cup Final. The Kings fell behind in each of their first two games at home, but they rallied to win each game in overtime. Just as everyone expected. After splitting Games Three and Four in New York, the Kings decided to fall behind again in Game Five at home. After intense action at each end, Martinez ended the game, the series and the season by knocking in a rebound with 5:17 remaining in the second overtime.
The Kings were crowned again.
So, do two championships in three years count as a dynasty? Maybe, maybe not. However, with a very young roster including up-and-coming players like Tanner Pearson, Jake Muzzin and Tyler Toffoli; another title or two may very well be on the horizon.
Simply looking at names of Stanley Cup winners, the Kings, who have won their only two championships in their 46-year history in a span of three years, may not appear to some as a dynasty. But the way they won each of those championships and the possibility of another in the immediate future is something that does not come around too often.
And who could be better to rule the NHL with a sequence of titles than Kings?