The Los Angeles Kings entered the NHL in 1967 and had gone over 40 seasons without a Stanley Cup. During the 2011-12 season, it looked like that streak was going to continue, but they put together an incredible playoff run that culminated with their first Stanley Cup.
Entering the playoffs, no one would have expected the Kings to get as far as they did. They had three different head coaches during the regular season as they would fire Terry Murray during the season and before hiring Darryl Sutter, had John Stevens coach four games.
It was not until the very end of the regular season that the Kings even knew they were going to be in the playoffs.