The Kings made their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993 with a lineup featuring center Wayne Gretzky, defenseman Paul Coffey, and left wing Luc Robitaille. While playing for Los Angeles in 1994, Gretzky, known as The Great One, became the most prolific scorer in NHL history when he broke the record set by forward Gordie Howe for career goals.

The Kings joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1967. Under the direction of head coach Red Kelly, they finished second in their division in their opening season. In their second year the Kings upset the Oakland Seals in the first round of the playoffs before being eliminated by the St. Louis Blues. Center Eddie Joyal starred on the Kings’ early squads.

After a four-year postseason drought, Los Angeles qualified for the playoffs nine consecutive years from 1974 to 1982. Marcel Dionne became one of the NHL’s most dominating centers, amassing more than 100 points in 7 of his 11 full seasons with the Kings. In both 1979 and 1980 Dionne was awarded the Lester B. Pearson Trophy as the NHL’s outstanding player. Starring with Dionne during the 1970s and 1980s were center Bernie Nicholls, left wing Charlie Simmer, and goalie Rogie Vachon.

The Kings’ finest regular-season performance during that nine-season stretch came in 1974-75, when they finished with a win-loss-tie record of 42-12-21. Kings head coach Bob Pulford was awarded the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year, and Vachon was one of the top goaltenders in the league. The Kings, however, were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by the Toronto Maple Leafs.