COMMISSIONER BETTMAN: Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Stanley Cup Final. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Kings and the New Jersey Devils for earning the right to be here.

We entered the last day of the regular season with 27 possible first?round playoff matchups, which is a testament to the competitive balance that we see in our game. It's also a testament to the two teams that remain: the Kings and the Devils. They are the champions of their respective conferences. Well done to both organizations.

The Kings and the Devils are obviously where 28 other clubs want to be at, this ultimate series of what has been another entertaining, exciting, and suspenseful season.

I congratulate the players, starting with Dustin Brown and Zach Parise. The coaches, starting with Peter DeBoer and Darryl Sutter. Management: Dean Lombardi and Lou Lamoriello.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The initial shock is subsiding, ever so slowly. The playoff beard is gone – a family project co-engineered by his two youngest daughters the morning after the Phoenix Coyotes were eliminated from the postseason three wins shy of their first Stanley Cup Final.

Shane Doan

Right Wing - PHX

GOALS: 5 | ASST: 4 | PTS: 9
SOG: 47 | +/-: 2

"I was watching the Rangers-Devils game [Wednesday night] and I'm thinking 'I should be playing [Thursday] to see if I can play against them," Doan said Thursday as he and his teammates cleaned out their lockers at Jobing.com Arena. "You think that after waiting so long [to win two playoff series] that a sense of accomplishment would be there. But if anything, the frustration is worse.

"Your goal is to win, to win it all. We thought we had a shot at it. But we congratulate L.A. and wish them well in the Final."

John Ondrasik usually doesn't need any help getting noticed. The multi-platinum singer/songwriter known by the stage name Five for Fighting is well known for his heartfelt ballads, and he's easily recognizable while walking around New York. But the L.A. Kings cap he's been wearing around town lately has been getting him a different kind of attention -- especially with the Rangers playing the New Jersey Devils for the right to meet the Kings in the Stanley Cup Final.

"There are a lot of confident Rangers fans. They talk a lot of smack," said Ondrasik, who has been spending the last few weeks in New York recording Five for Fighting's new album. "I appreciate and respect that."

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The veteran players with extensive experience are a driving force behind the Los Angeles Kings.

LOOK (AND FEEL) LIKE A KING

Justin Williams, Rob Scuderi, Dustin Penner and Colin Fraser have won the Stanley Cup with other teams. Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene have played in the Final. All were brought back to that special feeling of going to the Final when the Kings clinched a berth with their 4-3 overtime win against the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday.

In the middle of the celebration was an emotional Willie Mitchell, a quietly integral part of the Kings who, as the team's oldest player at age 35, will play in the Final for the first time in his 12-season career.

"It's been a long time coming," Mitchell said. "It's what you work for as a player and a teammate. I was fortunate enough to be out on the ice when big [Dustin Penner] scored [in overtime]. Some guys were jumping and I was just sitting there [thinking], 'Is this happening?' I feel fortunate to get this chance and get the opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup for real."

But Penner never experienced what happened Tuesday night when the Los Angeles Kings arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. A mass of fans reportedly in the thousands greeted the Kings after they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-3 overtime win against the Phoenix Coyotes.

"It was like driving down a hallway filled with human flesh," Penner said in a conference call Thursday. "You couldn't see anything but people screaming and Kings jerseys. Not anything anyone will forget ever … It's a nice little feather to put in your hat, especially in a city like L.A."

Going back to the beginning of the 2011-12 season, it was common to see knowledgeable hockey people pick the Los Angeles Kings to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final.

But no one could have predicted the road they would take to get there.

They suffered through an up-and-down regular season that included the dismissal of defensive-minded coach Terry Murray. His replacement, Darryl Sutter, installed a more up-tempo attack.

The result was a 25-13-11 record under Sutter that got the Kings into the playoff chase, but back-to-back losses to end the regular season left them with the No. 8 seed.

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League announced today the schedule for the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.

Based on their superior regular-season point totals, either the New York Rangers or the New Jersey Devils will host Games One and Two of the best-of-seven Final, as well as Games Five and Seven. Games Three and Four -- and Game Six, if necessary -- will be hosted by the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Kings.

In the U.S., NBC will broadcast Games One and Two and, if necessary, Games Five through Seven, while NBC Sports Network will telecast Games Three and Four. In Canada, CBC and RDS will cover the entire series. All games also will be carried on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

NHL Network, the League's 24-hour, all-access pass to the most comprehensive hockey coverage, will feature special programming surrounding the Stanley Cup Final. NHL.com will continue to provide extensive digital coverage.

Dustin Brown

Right Wing - LAK

GOALS: 6 | ASST: 5 | PTS: 11
SOG: 31 | +/-: 9

And, with 69 games in the rear-view mirror, there is a significant sample size available with which to analyze the early contenders for the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the playoffs. That is exactly what we did, asking some of NHL.com's biggest postseason contributors to pick their MVP at the halfway point of the journey to earn what many believe to be the toughest trophy to win in all of professional sports.

Here are eight highlights that help define why the Devils, Rangers/Capitals, Kings and Coyotes have made it to the NHL's final four:

Classic Garden Moments

Madison Square Garden has seen its share of amazing sports moments. The end of Game 5 of the Rangers-Capitals series is now among them.

The Rangers won it 3-2 in overtime, but the astonishing part was how.

With 21.3 seconds left in regulation and the Capitals leading 2-1, Joel Ward got his stick up on Carl Hagelin and drew blood. To the box he went for a four-minute double-minor. To the power play the Rangers went with nary a second to waste.

The Rangers were 0-for-3 with zero shots on goal on the power play in Game 5 before Ward slashed Hagelin. They wound up 2-for-5 with four shots on goal in a winning effort.

How did they do it? It started in the faceoff circle.

VOORHEES, N.J. -- Watching Ilya Bryzgalov in his first season with the Philadelphia Flyers, teammate Scott Hartnell was reminded of his first season with the team.

Like Bryzgalov, Hartnell arrived from a non-traditional hockey market and signed a lucrative, long-term contract.

Ilya Bryzgalov

Goalie - PHI

RECORD: 5-6-1
GAA: 3.46 | SVP: 0.887

The second season, he said, was far easier for having gone through the first-year difficulties. On the ice, he responded with the best season of his career to that point.

He's not alone in believing Bryzgalov could travel that same path next season.

"Once you get to know the guys and you feel more comfortable in your house, in your life, all that kind of stuff, definitely you get more confidence as the year goes on," Hartnell said. "Next year he'll come back from Russia in the summer and his house is all set up -- he'll be ready to play."