PITTSBURGH -- When defenseman Darryl Sydor reached the Stanley Cup finals with the Kings as a rookie in 1993, he thought the franchise's future was incredibly bright.
"You think it's going to happen every year when you're a youngster," said Sydor, who was chosen seventh overall in the 1990 entry draft, "but we didn't make the playoffs for five years."
Sydor, now 36, was traded by the Kings to Dallas in 1996 for Shane Churla and Doug Zmolek in another of those awful, what-were-they-thinking deals that were all too common in the Kings' history. He returned to the Cup finals three times after that, winning with Dallas in 1999, losing with the Stars in 2000 and winning again with Tampa Bay in 2004.
Now with the Penguins, Sydor made his fourth finals appearance Wednesday after having been scratched from the lineup for the first two games. Sydor, who hadn't played since March 31, replaced Kristopher Letang and was paired with Ryan Whitney.
Although he put Los Angeles in his rearview mirror long ago, Sydor still has fond memories of his Kings tenure. His most unforgettable moment was the seventh game of the then-Campbell Conference finals against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. That's the game in which Wayne Gretzky, who had been criticized for not carrying his share of the load, lifted his game to an unprecedented level.
"I remember Wayne saying he was going to get a hat trick that night and he ended up getting it," Sydor said of the 5-4 victory that catapulted the Kings into the Cup finals against Montreal.
"He was our leader and he took us to the finals that game, and as a young guy you just look back in awe. . . . You have to cherish your time, that's one thing I've learned, and enjoy it. You have to embrace the challenge."
Coach Michel Therrien said Sydor "had a great season" but was a victim of the team's depth on the blue line.
"We certainly could use experience on the ice and even on the bench," Therrien said. "So I'm excited for him to finally get a chance to play in those playoffs."
Sydor said he thought the Penguins didn't play as badly in the first two games as the 4-0 and 3-0 final scores indicate.
"The first game maybe guys were in awe a little bit of being there and I think that just came from youth," Sydor said. "But I think we've refocused. We believe we can come up with a big win tonight and make this a different series."
