LOS ANGELES -- If the pass from Dustin Brown to Anze Kopitar for his picture-perfect goal in the second period seemed effortless, almost second nature, it's because it probably was for these two longtime teammates.

No two players on the Los Angeles Kings have played together longer than Brown and Kopitar. They have both had a front-row seat for the Kings' rebuilding process over the past six seasons (eight for Brown, the captain and most tenured King).

They both experienced the back end of seven consecutive years without a playoff berth in Los Angeles and sat in their locker room at Staples Center the past two seasons after being eliminated at home in the first round of the playoffs.

When Dustin Brown, left, and Anze Kopitar connected on a spectacular goal in Game 3, Brown was the first to jump into his longtime teammate's arms. Kirby Lee/Image of Sport/US Presswire

And if the pass from Mike Richards to Jeff Carter for his back-breaking goal in the third period seemed natural, as if it had been practiced countless times before, it's because it has by these two old friends.

No two players on the Kings are as close as Richards and Carter. They have been teammates for the past eight years, starting when they were with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL in 2004, then when they played for the Philadelphia Flyers for the next six years before being traded separately last summer, with Richards being shipped off to Los Angeles and Carter to Columbus. They would be apart for only eight months before Carter was traded to Los Angeles in February to be reunited with Richards and give the Kings a much-needed scoring threat.

They both experienced the heartbreak of losing the Stanley Cup final two years ago on their home ice when they were with the Flyers, and both experienced the humiliation of being tagged as problems rather than leaders last summer when they were sent out of town in opposite directions within hours of each other.

There are plenty of players to credit for the Kings being one win away from winning their first Stanley Cup, especially with 17 different players on the Kings scoring this postseason. But there is no question the seeds for the Kings' current run and 15-2 record were planted years ago on opposite coasts and on opposite teams with four players that likely didn't think they would be headlining the top two lines in hockey right now.

"I didn't really see Kopi beyond the guy; I just kind of knew he was coming," Brown said of his pass to Kopitar in the second period that gave the Kings a 2-0 lead. "I just put it there. It was an all right pass, but the shot was better. An offside one-timer is not the easiest thing, and he put it right up under the bar."

Said Kopitar: "Yeah, we have been playing together for about five years. I think, as of right now, we have our chemistry going. It's extremely important to have guys clicking and knowing where you're going to be on the ice, just reading off each other."