'FULL PENSION LINE'

LOS ANGELES - The adrenaline was coursing through his veins.
Leading 4-1, late-third, and with the trophy they all dream of waiting backstage, Trevor Lewis had a chance to ice it.
"I was pretty nervous there," the forward laughs of that empty-net moment some nine years ago. "I was like, 'Just don't miss this...'
He didn't.
The pass from Dwight King landed square on the tape. In alone, he buried.
And became a Stanley Cup champion.
"It was pretty special," Lewis said, looking back on that day in 2012. "That was the first time the Cup's been won here, too. It was crazy. Looking back at that, all the emotions and having my parents come on the ice and everything, it was a pretty cool time."

Tonight, after spending 12 years carving out a career in Tinseltown, Lewis returns to the Staples Center for the first time since leaving the Kings in 2020.
The 34-year-old was one of a handful of Flames that took part in this morning's optional skate, and couldn't help but look up at the two banners he helped bring to Hollywood.

Excitement, nerves and a great-big smile - all three, visibly present when he took his first turns on that iconic canvas at LA Live. And certainly, as we inch closer to puck drop, the butterflies and business side will clash with one another, too.
But how can you not savour the moments like these; the memories, that for a legion of Kings fans, have left a lasting impression?
So, for now, he'll soak it up.
"My dad will be here," Lewis said. "My wife and kids were going to come down, but it's too hard with the kids and flying and all that. I think my dad circled this one right away and we made sure he was going to be here."
Lewis has been a valuable addition to this Flames this team this year. On Wednesday, Head Coach Darryl Sutter paid him the ultimate compliment by saying his game hasn't changed one bit in the past 10 years - that his hockey IQ and superb, at-speed processing power allows him to "manage" games more effectively than most.
He's also at the forefront of the Flames' revitalized culture.
He sets the bar when it comes to work ethic and constantly picks at his craft.
He, along with Milan Lucic and fellow Cup champ Brad Richardson, have given Sutter and the Flames everything they could ask for from a fourth line.
They're trusted to play big minutes and are often the go-to guys late in games to help close it out.
"For us, everyone plays and everyone has a big role in it," said Richardson, who was part of the 2012 squad, but has been back to L.A. before as a member of the Canucks, Coyotes and Predators.
"On some teams, the third or fourth lines don't play very much and the fourth line doesn't play at all on some teams.
"We use every line. We need every line to be good, and I think that has a big buy in on the team that everyone feels important.
"And that's the way Darryl's teams are."

Combined, the Flames' venerable fourth trio has 44 years and 2,626 nights of NHL experience. The players are all in their mid-30s, now, but continue to play a key role in a variety of situations. It's why Lewis - who scored twice in that Cup-winning game here in 2012 - was on the ice, protecting a lead, to begin with.
Ten years on, he's still getting that tap on the shoulder and has a pair of empty-net tallies to show for it.
Until now, the only thing missing from this group was a proper nickname. They've earned that status. In a city where the famed 'Triple Crown Line' of Dave Taylor, Charlie Simmer and Marcel Dionne made history, expectations were high.
They did not disappoint.
"My buddies call us the 'Full Pension Line,'' Richardson laughed.
"Yeah, Richie told me this morning about it," Lewis countered.
"It's a pretty good nickname, I guess. I don't know how they came up with that one, but it's pretty good."