From an Oiler producing an eight-point night to Lord Stanley finally landing in LA, it was a wild year for the National Hockey League in 2012. There were some not-so-friendly, but riveting playoff matchups, an unexpected run in the Arizona desert, some arena news and the unfortunate lockout this fall. Check out FOX Sports.com's top 10 stories of the past 12 months. 

After 45 years of waiting, the Kings finally brought the Stanley Cup to Los Angeles by defeating the New Jersey Devils in six games. But it wasn’t just the franchise’s first Cup that was the story, it was the way the Kings did it. LA squeaked into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the last week of the season and went on to beat the top three seeds in the West (Vancouver, St. Louis and Phoenix) in order. The Kings also tore through their road schedule, winning their first 10 playoff games away from Staples Center. LA even became the first team to go up 3-0 in each series since the NHL moved to a four-round format. Every player seemed to rise to the occasion just in time for a Hollywood ending. “It’s one of those things you dream all your life for as a player,” said captain Dustin Brown (pictured). “The city of Los Angeles has been dreaming of this for 45 years. There were about 20 million dreams coming true tonight.”

Check out where the Kings took the Cup during the offseason
 

All that was bad about the NHL resurfaced in 2012. The NHL’s labor issues led to another lockout, the second in seven years for the league. Commissioner Gary Bettman (pictured) locked out the players on Sept. 16 once the previous CBA expired. Players flew to overseas gigs, or the AHL, or waited … and waited. The roller coaster ride of talks, and no talks, lingered late December with the league already canceling 625 games, the Winter Classic in Detroit, and the All-Star Game in Columbus. Finally, on Jan. 6 the sides set aside their differences to get hockey back on the ice just in time.

Check out the timeline of events during the lockout

After 20 seasons in the NHL, all with the Red Wings, steady defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom decided to hang up his skates on May 31. The four-time Stanley Cup champion played 1,564 games and won the Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman seven times. In 2008, he became the first European-born captain to win the Cup. ''I've played with great players who made mistakes, but I can't think of one game when I thought, 'Nick just didn't have it tonight,''' teammate Brad Stuart once said of the longtime captain.

Check out Lidstrom’s career through the years

“Henrique, it’s over!” Maybe it didn’t have the ring of “Matteau, Matteau, Matteau” but the call was worthy of a repeat when making our picks for this year’s top stories. Devils fans have had to live with losing to the Rangers (on a goal by Stephane Matteau) in OT in the 1994 conference final. Comparisons flew left and right when the Hudson River rivals met in the East final again in 2012. And it all came down to clutch rookie Adam Henrique, who scored off a rebound in overtime of Game 6 to send the Devils to the Final. For Devils fans it would have been sweeter had the team beat the Kings for the Stanley Cup, but having the upper hand on the Rangers is better than reliving ’94.

Read more about the Game 6 victory

Those longing for old-time hockey were not disappointed when the in-state rivals faced off in the first round of the playoffs. The Flyers held onto their Broad Street Bullies reputation even in 2012 and were able to reel the finesse Penguins into playing their type of game. It was disastrous for the Penguins, but it made for some must-see hockey as the gloves dropped often and goals were scored at will. The series will be remembered for Game 3, an 8-4 win by the Flyers which featured 158 penalty minutes and four 10-minute misconducts in the last five minutes. Even stars Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux went at it, signaling that all bets were off. The Flyers went up 3-0 in the series before Pittsburgh answered in Game 4 with an unpredictable 10-3 showing with 100 PIM between the sides. Philly closed out the series with a 4-2 win in Game 6 at home.

Check out fight photos from the series

The State of Hockey made a huge statement on July 4 when the Wild signed the two biggest free agents on the market, forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter. Parise, fresh off leading the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final, and Suter, a tough, two-way defender with the Predators, signed monster (and matching) 13-year, $98 million deals. Before they even played a single game, the team named the two their stars alternate captains. It was a homecoming of sorts for the “package deal” as Parise, of Minnesota, and Suter, of Wisconsin, headed back to the Northwest. “Every kid that's grown up in Minnesota would love to play for the Wild. I was hoping to have that opportunity. Right now, I'm lucky we're able to make it happen,” Parise said the day the deal was announced.

Read more about the Wild's big move

For a two-month stretch, the Phoenix Coyotes made everyone forget about the team’s woes away from the ice. Talks of relocation ceased as the Coyotes went on a magical ride in the desert. For the first time in franchise history, the Coyotes won the Pacific Division. Behind the grisly leadership of captain Shane Doan and highlight-reel stops by goalie Mike Smith, Phoenix knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators in the first two rounds of the playoffs. A berth in the Western Conference final against division rival Los Angeles was also another franchise first. The “White Out” was back at Jobing.com Arena. Even after losing to the Kings in five games more positive news came later in the summer with an approved arena deal, a new owner almost certainly in place, and Doan agreeing to return.

Read more about the Coyotes' run

The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Steven Stamkos No. 1 overall in the 2008 draft for one major reason – to score goals. In 2012, the All-Star center reached 60, becoming the 19th player in NHL history to do so. Stamkos hit the mark on the team’s last game of the regular season, on the road against the Winnipeg Jets on April 7. His 60 goals set a franchise record and he won the Rocket Richard Trophy for a second time. “To be honest, it was a special night. I was relieved to get it,” Stamkos said.
 

Track Stamkos' road to 60

So long, Long Island? Well, technically Brooklyn is the western-most part of Long Island, but the Islanders will be moving away from their longtime home in Nassau County. The NHL franchise was a powerhouse in the 1980s, winning four straight Stanley Cups in 1979. They made the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum the place to be, much to the demise of the New York Rangers. But in recent years the worn-down arena was in need of major upgrades (and in the end, a full replacement), before the team’s lease was up in 2015. Instead, on Oct. 24 the Islanders announced they were packing their bags and heading to Brooklyn’s new venue, the Barclays Center, which plays home to the NBA’s Nets. The Islanders will move to Brooklyn in 2015.

Could the move help attract NHL stars? Read more

The Edmonton Oilers’ Sam Gagner shocked the NHL and himself with an eight-point night (four goals, four assists) against the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 2 in an 8-4 win. Just 22 years old at the time, Gagner tied the Oilers’ club record shared by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey. ''I didn't think I would ever be mentioned in the same breath as Gretzky or Coffey,'' Gagner said after the game. ''You never expect to do something like this.”

Read more about Gagner’s special night