Los Angeles Kings fans stick it out

Kinninger, who runs a satellite television company in Mexico and has been a Kings supporter since 1980, is determined to pull his 11-year-old son from school, jump on a plane and attend the potentially clinching game.

"I'm not going to put a price on it," said Kinninger, 43. "To me, the Kings are like a son or daughter who has never-ending problems but has a chance to do something great. You will love them no matter what, but it would be the ultimate sensation if they succeed."

Kidder, whose Facebook page has a picture of Kings forward Dustin Penner, said she might use a Kings championship as an excuse to cover up a tattoo of some incorrectly drawn Chinese characters. Some possibilities: the Stanley Cup, hockey sticks crossed like pirate swords, or a likeness of Kings goalie Jonathan Quick.

Patko, a 42-year-old homemaker in Anaheim, sat with her father at the 1982 Miracle on Manchester, when the Kings overcame a five-goal deficit in the first round of the playoffs to defeat the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers in one of the greatest comebacks in NHL history.

"My dad never got to experience the L.A. Kings hockey life that I have," she said.

If the Kings win the cup, she will visit his grave site, recount the Kings' conquest and have "a moment with him," Patko said. "To follow a team for this long without any hopes for success, you just have to keep believing."

john.horn@latimes.com