Kovalchuk will face Brown and the team he nearly joined. (Getty Images)

NEWARK N.J. -- The Stanley Cup Final is now set and when the NHL was whittled down to two we were left with a six seed and an eight seed. How more fitting for today's NHL where "competitive balance" rules the roost?

It means that the Devils, who have not had home-ice advantage through the first three rounds, will have it in the Final. That's pretty remarkable, if you think about it. Both teams playing for the Cup have done it as the lower seed in each round. In my amateur historical researching this is the first time a team didn't get home-ice advantage until the Stanley Cup Final -- at least in the "modern" era. Pretty amazing stuff.

But this matchup here is more about being road warriors. This one is as much about getting hot and keeping it going. The Devils finished the season on fire, appropriately, winning their final seven games before going into the playoffs. They had fits with the Panthers in the first round, surviving two overtime games in elimination scenarios, but have lost just three games since.

The Kings were hot down the stretch of the season but did limp to the finish line. That's what makes them a sneaky eight seed. The Kings were actually the first team from the Pacific Division to clinch a playoff spot, so it's not like they sneaked into the field. But now they have become a juggernaut, taking out anything in their path.

As a result, we have a Final that many would call unlikely. These teams weren't expected to do this when the playoffs begun. But don't tell that to the Devils' Ryan Carter, who politely dismissed a question from a reporter on Friday night who called this run unexpected.

But it sort of is. You could possibly get away with saying either team's appearance in the Final isn't unlikely -- I wouldn't, but you could try -- but to have both of them here together? Well that would have won you some big bucks in Vegas, I'm sure.

Expected or not, though, this is the Final, a first-time matchup between the Devils and Kings. While enjoying the spoils of their Eastern Conference victory on Friday night, the Devils weren't in too much of a mood to look ahead, but they know what they're up against with L.A.

Do they know anything about the champs of the West?

"Ah, no, not really," Stephen Gionta answered. "Other than they're hot right now, they're a great team. They're in the Final for a reason. We just have to come out flying on Wednesday."

This Final isn't riddled with intriguing and some might say contrived storylines. There aren't a ton of players who go to the Devils and leave, so we don't have a lot of crossover players, guys who have worn both the red and black and silver and black. Devils defenseman Peter Harrold played for the Kings and Kings forward Willie Mitchell used to be in New Jersey.

Oh, and Ilya Kovalchuk was almost a member of the Kings. If you're looking for awful puns to use to describe this series, I humbly -- and regrettably -- offer up this: Just call this series the Ilya Kovalcup.

"It's actually a little weird that the two teams I was choosing from are going to face in the Final, but I'm pretty sure I made the right decision," Kovalchuk said. "I can't wait to play those games."

Neither can we. This should be fun and not just because it's the Final. With all the talk of shot-blocking and defensive hockey this postseason, fans have been given a treat with the Kings and Devils. We're in store for a series with tremendous pace and probably plenty of action.

It might be an unlikely matchup, but that doesn't mean it's not a good one.

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