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Dwight King scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Jonathan Quick made 18 saves, and the Los Angeles Kings rolled to the brink of their first Stanley Cup final in 19 years with a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night.

The Kings lead the Western Conference finals 3-0.

"We wanted to have our own push in front of our owns fans, show our push," said Kings forward Jarret Stoll, whose hustle set up King's goal. "It took us a while to get our own game (going), but we did, especially in the third period."

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Last summer, after the Flyers acquired the rights of restricted free agent Jakub Voracek from Columbus in the Jeff Carter trade, the ensuing contract negotiations dragged on longer than those for any other unsigned player on the team.

Talks between Flyers' general manager Paul Holmgren and Voracek's agent, former Flyers' defenseman Petr Svoboda, were not contentious. However, the two sides could not come to an agreement on a long-term contract. Instead, the parties agreed to a one-year deal.

A one-year contract for an RFA almost always means a short-term compromise took place. There was still a gap between the salary figures the two sides wanted, and one side or the other (usually the player's side) was not comfortable committing to the final one-year figure for multiple seasons.

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The Winnipeg Jets are well represented in the 2011-12 post-season, with their AHL affiliate, the St. John IceCaps making the Eastern Conference Finals. The organization also had players make noise in the OHL and WHL playoffs.


AHL

The St. John's IceCaps are in the Eastern Conference Finals and are being driven by key contributions from Jets prospects. Goaltender Eddie Pasquale, an AHL rookie, has forced himself into the starter's role for the IceCaps, beating out competition from veterans David Aebischer and Peter Mannino and establishing himself as the Jets' top goalie prospect. Pasquale has been more than steady, coming up with spectacular saves when most needed and is amongst the league leaders in the playoffs with a .932 save percentage and 2.07 goals against average.

Patrice Cormier has been a key role player for the IceCaps, centering the second line and matching up with the top opposition players. Aided and abetted by grinder Spencer Machacek, the two have emerged as key performers in the tough going of the post season. Another unsung hero who has risen to the occasion is fourth line center Johnny Albert, a heart and soul player that has put in the effort to kill penalties and block shots. It was Albert who set up the game winner in game seven of the conference semis after a gutsy play along the boards.

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Summarized Scouting Report
Strengths:

A speedy goal scorer with good vision and creativity ... has the talent to score plenty of goals in the NHL if he can handle the grind ... he’s a good skater with an explosive first step and good agility ... good speed ... quick shot release ... brings quickness and skill to the offensive zone ... distributes the puck well on the attack ... good in tight spaces and can be very dangerous when he has time and space ... magnetic puck skills ... on-ice elusiveness ... outstanding playmaking ability ... skill-set makes him a very valuable player on the powerplay ... puck-handling prowess ... has great hockey sense ... creative and calm with the puck ... elite vision ... a very smart player

Weaknesses:

Needs to improve his balance ... gain strength to take on veteran opponents ... doesn’t have a physical aspect to his game ... could be grittier

HW Projection:

Offensive Top Six Forward

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