Los Angeles Kings @ New York Rangers, Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final
The Rangers are back in the action tonight when they host the Los Angeles Kings in the Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. For the first time in this post season, the Blueshirts weren’t able to win with the lead going into the third period. Dwight King’s questionable goal made it 4-3 with 18 minutes left in the 3rd period and Marian Gaborik tied the game with his 13th goal of the playoffs. Chris Kreider had two marvellous chances in the first overtime period. First he hit the post with the shot from the slot and just minutes later Jonathan Quick was able to stop him on a breakaway. Although the Rangers led the game by two goals three different times, the Kings left the Staples Center with 2-0 lead in the championship series. Dustin Brown redirected Willie Mitchell’s shot from the point and the captain of the Kings ended the game in 90:24. While the referees clearly made a mistake in King’s goal and they missed a clear “delay of game” penalty in second overtime, the Rangers have to blame themselves on this one. Despite being down 2-0 in the series, this team remains confident. They know they can win this this beat the Kings and they sure wanna do it twice in front of the Garden Faithful. Game 4 will be played at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
LAK:
Marian Gaborik played three season with the Rangers but tonight he will step into the Garden’s first time in the opponents jersey since he was traded from NY to Columbus. Gaborik has been a big part of the Kings success this spring and he leads the league in goals, with 13. #12 has already played nine seasons in the NHL but as for now, the big wins have avoided him. As Eddie Olczyk said with the Kings, Gaborik isn’t the guy – he’s part of their core. In Minnesota and New York, Gaborik was the number one guy in the offense but as found out, that wasn’t the best possible way for him.
Believe it or not but the Kings haven’t led this series for even a second – but they have a 2-0 lead in the series. The Rangers have had a lead for 50:03 thru the first two games but Los Angeles leads have been permanent. After this year, the Kings could easily change their name to Los Angeles Comeback Kings. They are the first team in NHL history to win three Game 7’s on the road in same year, only the fourth team in the history to make a comeback from 0-3 deficit in the series and they have survived seven elimination games this post season.
NYR:
It’s time for a pay back. This New York Rangers team has showed passion and heart throughout this post season and they have given us a reason to believe. Tonight Madison Square Garden will host the first Stanley Cup Final game in 20 years. Alain Vigneault called it “unconditional love”, Messier named it as the Garden Faithful. 18 200 people will make a difference, if they just want to do it. The Rangers are close, they have controlled the first two games – just haven’t been able to cash in. This team has been down before and they have made a comeback. All you can do at the moment is to believe.
The Rangers need to better in front of their own net. They have lost several battles in front of Lundqvist (Gaborik’s goal in Game 2) and they seem to have a problem locating the puck early enough. Another thing where they have to be extremely careful tonight is how they clear the puck. Use the boards, don’t pass the puck to the middle of the ice. Most of all clear the puck when you have a chance to do it. Derek Stepan failed to clear the puck in Game 1, Brad Richards in Game 2. Two Kings’ goals in result.
Alain Vigneault knows very well that 2-0 deficit isn’t that much – even in the Cup Final. His Vancouver Canucks won the first two games in the 2011, just to see the Bruins win the Cup in Game 7. Winning 4 out of 5 against this Kings team sounds tough but the Rangers have done something unexpected this spring before. The old saying goes, “you ain’t in trouble before you lose a game on your home ice”. That hasn’t happened yet.
Let’s Go Rangers!
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