Stanley Cup

Kings great Luc Robitaille donated a 2012 Stanley Cup championship ring to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday, which added it to the Stanley Cup Championship display at the Hall in Toronto. "We are very grateful to the Los Angeles Kings organization, especially Luc Robitaille,” said Bill Hay, the chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame.  “As chairman and CEO of the Hockey Hall of Fame, it's an honor to accept this Stanley Cup ring.  It will make a wonderful addition to our special Stanley Cup Ring exhibit.” The ring is featured in a display celebrating the current and past Stanley Cup champions, including the first-ever Stanley Cup ring (1893)

Gretzky's streak of scoring points in Stanley Cup finals ended at 17 games. Gretzky got off only one shot, coming during the first period, and did not assist on either goal.

Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo put on a hoodie and headphones and went for a walk along Vancouver's scenic seawall Friday afternoon. He had gone down that path before he faced the Chicago Blackhawks in the seventh game of the first round of the playoffs, but this trip was different. He had yielded 12 goals in Boston while the Bruins tied the Stanley Cup finals at two games each, rekindling questions about his big-game credentials. Burrowed into that hoodie, oblivious to everything around him, he took a stroll after the team's pregame meal.

The Stanley Cup is probably still half full of champagne down in the Kings' locker room. But it's time to start talking names. Whose names should be etched into the Stanley Cup? Two jump out at me. Garnet “Ace” Bailey and Mark Bavis. This is a no-brainer. Bailey and Bavis were Kings' scouts who found themselves on United Flight 175 on Sept. 11, 2001. Bailey was the Kings' director of pro scouting at the time of his death. Bavis was a scout for the team. The two were returning from Boston to attend the Kings' training camp when the airplane was hijacked by terrorists, who crashed it into the World Trade Center.

WESTERN CONFERENCE TEAM PREVIEWS In predicted order of rankings (division leaders are 1-2-3) San Jose Sharks 2009-10 record: 51-20-11, 113 points. Power play: 21.0% (fourth). Penalty killing: 85% (fifth). Team goals-against average: 2.51 (eighth). Leading scorer: Joe Thornton 20-69?89. Outlook: Another strong regular-season performance ended short of the Cup, in a conference-final sweep by the Blackhawks. Will it ever be their year?

Tracy Morrissey has been a Los Angeles Kings fan since she was 7-years-old, when the franchise had only been in existence for three years. "Basically forever," as her husband, Patrick, put it. She stuck with the team through the brightest and bleakest of seasons. Now, she says she's ready for a Stanley Cup. "This is amazing," said Tracy, who runs a blog about the Kings. "All day long my heart was racing, I thought I was having a mini-heart attack. I had to get out of work.

The Stanley Cup has traveled far and wide since the Kings won it June 11, but it made an especially poignant visit Sunday. The Kings arranged to bring the Cup to the Ground Zero memorial in New York City and posed it at the memorial next to the engraved names of scouts Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis, who were on United Flight 175 when that plane was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Some fans had paid their own tribute to Bavis and Bailey soon after the Kings' triumph by putting Kings caps and other memorabilia near their names at the memorial.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Hopefully that doesn't apply to the Stanley Cup. Members of the Kings celebrated their NHL championship at the TAO nightclub in the Venetian Las Vegas Resort and Casino on Thursday night. And it was quite the show. After being introduced by a little person dressed as a king on his throne, the Kings players each took turns drinking champagne out of the Stanley Cup as music blared and partygoers cheered. Kings in attendance were Trevor Lewis, Jeff Carter, Jarrett Stoll, Brad Richardson, Drew Doughty, Mike Richards, Alec Martinez and Jordan Nolan.