Bow Down to the Kings: Los Angeles pushes New York Rangers to Brink of Elimination

As the time approaches for Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, there is a clock ready to strike midnight. That is because the miracle playoff run of the New York Rangers could very well end with a loss tonight.

The Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers had a fast-paced contest during Game 1 and Game 2 in the Staples Center. The series opened with a 3-2 overtime victory for Los Angeles Kings, which was competitive. The Rangers held a 2-0 lead that was erased by the strong effort of the L.A. Kings.  Kyle Clifford and Drew Doughty lit the lamp to force the overtime. In the extra time, Justin Williams won the game for his team.

Game 2 was back at the Staples Center. It had a flurry of 4 goals for each team that was resolved in double overtime.  Once again, the Rangers gained the 2-0 lead. In the first period, Ryan McDonaugh and Mats Zuccarello bombarded Jonathan Quick with sneaky shots that surprised the Kings goaltender. As soon as the lead was created, it started to disappear in the second period: Jared Stoll’s pass from Justin Williams put the Kings within one. That scoring gap would widen to two when New York’s Martin St. Louis would score a powerplay goal. Los Angeles came back to make the game 3-2 off a Willie Mitchell shot from the point; however, Derik Brassard would avenge that goal with one of his own 4 seconds later. By the third, it took a questionable non-call to change the momentum of the game: Dwight King scored on what appeared to be a goalie interference penalty. When it was obvious the goal would not be reviewed, the tally put the game within reach for the Kings.  The Rangers now relied on defending their net, a strategy that would lead to Gaborik tying the game at 4. The tense 4-4 game went into double overtime and Dustin Brown helped deflect a Willie Mitchell shot past Henrik Lundqvist for the 5-4 win for Los Angeles.  

Back in New York, the Kings brought a 2-0 series lead to Madison Square Garden. The hometown crowd seemed to be out of it the entire game. So did the New York Rangers as a matter of fact. Los Angeles was able to utilize their speed effectively without much resistance. The 3 goals scored that night came from veteran Kings players Jeff Carter and Mike Richards as well as defenseman Jake Muzzin. Kings Goalie Jonathan Quick was able to stop the Rangers’ attempts to get into the game. Netminder Henrik Lundqvist of New York could only watch as the three goals passed by him. As the clock ticked down to end the game, the Los Angeles Kings boasted a 3-0 shutout victory and a 3-0 series lead.

Tonight, Game 4 awaits New York and Los Angeles. Madison Square Garden will play host to the richest prize in National Hockey League History as the Stanley Cup will be wheeled into the building. The only question that remains is this: Will Lord Stanley re-crown the Los Angeles Kings that night or will the New York Rangers fight back to play another day?

Stanley Cup Finals Begin: Observations from Game 1

The Staple Center hosted the first game in this series. John Moore of New York was serving the last game of his 2-game suspension from the prior round; Raphael Diaz assumed his spot in the line-up. Daniel Carcillo-another suspension-got word he would be available for Game 4 due to a reduction of his punishment to 6 games(down from 10).  Other roster changes came in the back-up goalie role as journeyman David LeNeveu would replace an injured Cam Talbot.

As for the game, it was as close as many had predicted. The speed of the forwards was on display as each side glided down the ice set on getting the first goal in the series. In the first period, New York would get on the board with two goals in the span of 2:42. Benoit Pouliot scored on a breakaway chance and Carl Hagelin got his goal when his shot rebounded off Slava Voynov’s skate and past netminder Jonathan Quick. The Kings would come within one before the end of the period when Jeff Carter set up Kyle Clifford for a side angle shot that sneaked past Henrik Lundqvist.

The second and third period belonged to the Los Angeles Kings. Defenseman Drew Doughty tied the game at 2 early on in the second. Former Marian Gaborik would attempt to get his 13^th goal of the playoffs only to be stopped by New York goalie Lundqvist.  As for the Rangers, they found themselves in the penalty box far too often to get back into this game. If that wasn’t enough, the early burst of speed they started the game with wore them down as the contest continued.

Thanks to great saves in the last minute of the third, the game was sent to overtime. The Kings came into this extra session determined. Justin Williams would send the puck sailing over Henrik Lundqvist’s blocker to give his team the victory 4:36 into overtime. Final Score: 3-2 Los Angeles

Game 2 is tonight from Los Angeles starting at 7pm Eastern Time on NBC. 

Coast to Coast: 2014 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Finals Preview

It’s time for the Stanley Cup Finals! Representing the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers bested the Montreal Canadiens to earn their ticket to this round. In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings took the Chicago Blackhawks to 7 games in their conference final to arrive at this point.

There are many ways to assess this match-up. I will look at some of the reasons why this will be an amazing series to watch:

Goaltending: New York’s Henrik Lundqvist comes into this stage of the playoffs with a team record for playoff wins (42) and an impressive amount of post-season shut-outs (9). He is the force that keeps the Rangers in the game. After a loss, he places the burden on himself and rebounds from the following contest with stellar numbers.

Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick is just as good as Henrik. A one-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender, Quick is a worthy competitor on the other side of the ice. It should be worth mentioning that he withstood the offensive force of the Chicago Blackhawks and stood tall at series’ end.

Advantage:  Even- Fans can expect close games and overtimes throughout this series with these two in net.

Growing up Teammates:  Both the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings benefit from having a youthful team that matured within the American Hockey League, which is the main team’s farm system. The Western Conference Champions-the Kings- can say the following were a part of their Manchester Monarchs affiliate: Forwards-Dwight King, Trevor Lewis, Jordan Nolan, Tyler Toffoli; Defensemen-Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, Slava Voynov; Goaltender: Martin Jones

For the Eastern Conference champions, the Rangers have plenty of players in their system that called the XL Center in Hartford their training ground. The following have been teammates on the Hartford Wolfpack/Connecticut Whale: Forwards-Carl Hagelin, Chris Kreider, Oscar Lindberg, J.T. Miller, Mats Zuccarello; Goatender: Cam Talbot.

Advantage: Los Angeles- The youth movement on that team formed early on and forged a strong bond

Team-Swap-NHL Edition: The drive to prove that the team that traded you was wrong to do so is stronger when the Stanley Cup is on the line.  Marian Gaborik of the Los Angeles Kings has to prove his injury-prone ways and lack of offensive contribution while in New York are behind him. He came to L.A. via Columbus and those players the Rangers got in exchange- John Moore, Derek Dorsett, Derik Brassard - have been the key to New York’s playoff run. Much like those players, Gaborik has been a spark for the Kings in this post-season as he has at least 8 goals (including a game winning goal May 3^rd, 2014 against Anaheim), and 4 assists in his playoff run.

Brian Boyle of the New York Rangers does not have a real reason to hold a grudge toward his former team, the Kings. Sent to New York for L.A.’s 3^rd Round 2010 draft pick in 2009, he has had to earn his spot on a competitive Rangers roster. His scoring stats are not as prolific as Marian Gaborik’s, but his ability to set up plays makes him a valuable member of the Broadway Blueshirts. His attitude can set a pace for the game.

Advantage: Even-Both Gaborik and Boyle can tilt the balance of a game into their team’s favor

Players to Watch: Los Angeles Kings: Defensemen Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin; Forwards Tyler Toffoli, and Marian Gaborik

New York Rangers: Defenseman Ryan McDonaugh; Forwards Carl Hagelin, Martin St. Louis, and Mats Zuccarello

Finals commence Wednesday. The contest is pretty even when you consider the factors of youth, speed, and goaltending. It should be entertaining to see who will win this match-up: a team called the Kings or the team that stands by “King” Henrik Lundqvist?

Sources include: www.nhl.com

“We Want the Cup!”-New York Rangers Eastern Conference Champions!

One piece of the Stanley Cup Finals picture is in place officially. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens in 6 games to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years. This match-up had its fair share of storylines...

Game 1: Montreal goaltender Carey Price gets injured in an accidental collision with New York’s Chris Kreider. The Bell Centre and home team get news that Price is out for the entire series with knee injury. No punishment is issued to Kreider, and sentiments about the hit sway towards venom as the prognosis is revealed. Coach Therrien of Montreal even accuses the young Ranger of running into Price recklessly.

Peter Budaj is placed in net to continue the game. The New York Rangers offense sparks to life for 7 goals. Montreal taken out of game mentally by loss of Price and cannot respond.  Final Score: 7-2 New York

Game 2: Goaltender for the AHL’s Montreal affiliate the Hamilton Bulldogs’- Dustin Tokarski-makes NHL playoff debut in net.  The game is tense as the Canadiens are out for retribution. Benoit Pouliot of New York adds more fuel to the already driven home team by delivering a hard hit to Alexei Emelin. Pouliot is punished for 2 minutes for boarding. Anger blinds the Canadiens though as they fail to get past the aggressive offense that they encountered in Game 1. Led By Martin St. Louis, the Rangers play a great team game and go on to take a 2-0 series lead. Final Score: 3-1 New York

Game 3: The Conference Finals series shifted back to Madison Square Garden. Former New York Ranger Brandon Prust started the night off by delivering a hit to Derek Stepan of New York that broke his jaw. No initial call during the game. The refs’ blindness to the hit led to agitation from the Rangers’ bench. Derek Dorsett exchanged blows with Prust while Daniel Carcillo stood by as a spectator. Linesman Scott Driscoll tried to pull Carcillo away from the confrontation only to get hit by the feisty forward. Consequently, the linesman gave the Ranger a game misconduct, which led to a suspension. The absence of New York agitator Daniel Carcillo led to Montreal trying to be more brazen on the ice. P.K. Subban was especially guilty, slew footing Dorsett and slashing at New York Rangers’ sticks at every opportunity.   At times the refs were not even cognizant of the additional players the Canadiens had on the ice, which should have been a penalty if caught.  Despite all the play away from the net, there was a close offensive contest taking place. Tied at 2 goals, the game went into an overtime the Canadiens quickly ended with a goal from Alex Galchenyuk. The series was now 2-1 New York. Final Score:    3-2 Montreal

Game 4: Following the behavior in the game before, the Canadiens were short Brandon Prust-who was serving a 2 game suspension for the hit on Stepan- and the New York Rangers were without Derek Stepan (broken jaw) and Daniel Carcillo (10 game ban for abuse of officials). John Moore and J.T. Miller stepped into the line-up for New York. It was another close contest as the New York Rangers had to battle the opposing team as well as themselves to get a positive result. The refs were calling a lot of penalties on the Rangers, putting them on the defensive for at least 8 times during regulation time.  For all the penalty killing and embellishment on Montreal’s part, the game went into overtime with the Canadiens and Rangers tied at 2. Unlike Game 3, overtime would belong to New York this time as Martin St. Louis got the puck past Dustin Tokarski. With a 3-1 series lead, New York could advance if they just won one more game.  Final Score: 3-2 New York

Game 5: The series clincher is always the hardest game to win in a playoff series. Game 5 proved this as Montreal put on a clinic on how to get past New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The returning Derek Stepan-complete with helmet cage- bolstered the spirit of the Rangers early on, but the goal blitz would soon undo that. Rene Bourque of Montreal would get a hat trick, scoring 3 times on Lundqvist. The Rangers would come within one of the 5-4 lead late in the third only to fall 7-4 in the Bell Centre. To make matters worse, John Moore would receive a 5-minute major and 2 game ban for his hit Dale Weise of the Canadiens; Dale would be later diagnosed with a concussion. With the series at 3-2 New York, Montreal now had the psychological edge with the potential to force a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Final Score: 7-4 Montreal    

Game 6: Montreal would get agitator Brandon Prust back the same time as New York would lose John Moore for two games. To replace the suspended John Moore, Former Canadien Raphael Diaz took his place in the Rangers’ line-up. This game was as close as the Game 3 and Game 4 tilts were. New York started the game out-shooting the Canadiens 11-1. The Rangers were determined to finish the series that night as any edge they had would vanish under a Game 7 in the Bell Centre. Henrik Lundqvist put on a stellar performance in net, making save after exciting save. The lone goal in this shut-out victory for New York came from Dominic Moore- a returning Ranger who resumed his career after a year and a half of dealing with a personal issue. The New York Rangers held onto the 1-0 lead till the end of the game. This win not only gave the Rangers the right to face the Western Conference Champions for the Stanley Cup, It was also Henrik Lundqvist’s 42^nd playoff victory and 9^th playoff shut-out. Final Score: 1-0 New York  

The Western Conference is still being decided as of press time. The finals start June 4^th, 2014.

 
Sources used: www.nhl.com, NBC Sports Network broadcasts of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Battle for Conference Supremacy: Round 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Much like the prior rounds, the suspense builds in the tournament for the Stanley Cup.  Water became a source of controversy when Shawn Thornton of the Boston Bruins squirted P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens from his spot on the bench and the New Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist used his water bottle against the persistent Pittsburgh Penguins squad at the end of the second period in game 6.  In addition to fines, the National Hockey League issued a two-game-suspension to Chicago Blackhawks’ Brandon Bollig after a boarding incident involving Keith Ballard of the Minnesota Wild during game 4 of their playoff series. Other in-game misbehavior included Matt Cooke (already suspended for Round 1 kneeing incident) boarding Chicago’s Johnny Oduya, an action that may have warranted punishment had Minnesota advanced. However, not all news was negative as heroes emerged when needed, such as Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson.

Round 3 decides who goes to the Finals. The best of the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions from the East square off as do the lone representatives of the Central and Pacific counterparts in the West.  These match-ups are entertaining and test the teams that have endured grueling series in prior rounds. The storylines to follow: 1. Kentucky Derby winning horse California Chrome may not be the only California-named newsmaker with title aspirations as the Los Angeles Kings of the Pacific Division set their sights on their opponents the Chicago Blackhawks; 2. This “Original 6” Eastern conference match-up is going to generate headlines as the Montreal Canadiens face off against the New York Rangers.

To recap the Western Conference:

The Central Division

Wild Card-Minnesota Wild

#3-Chicago Blackhawks-won series in 6 games

The Pacific Division

#1-Anaheim Ducks

#3-Los Angeles Kings- won series in 7 games

Here’s how the Eastern Conference fared:

The Atlantic Division

#1-Boston Bruins

#3-Montreal Canadiens- won series in 7 games

The Metropolitan Division

#1-Pittsburgh Penguins

#2-New York Rangers- won series in 7 games

Round 3 is underway

*Sources: www.nhl.com