Through two games the New York Rangers remain very much in the hunt. By forcing overtime in both Games 1 and 2, in Los Angeles, the Rangers have shown they are capable of playing with the Kings. A fact that nobody outside the New York dressing believed true just a week ago. With the series shifting back to New York and Madison Square Garden tonight, the Rangers are very much alive. The most important loss has yet to happen in this series, the loss that happens on home ice. With a win tonight, the Rangers would immediately inject themselves with confidence in this series. But a loss on home ice, and a 3-0 series deficit, will likely mean this series doesn’t extend beyond five games.
Los Angeles Kings Preview
The Kings are not doing everything right, not by a long shot. They are uncharacteristically turning the puck over, giving up high quality scoring chances, and have failed to lead at any point during this series (a crazy stat when you think about it). The resilience shown in coming from behind in both Games 1 and 2, forcing overtime, and coming out on top has been very impressive. The Kings have an incredible belief in themselves, and their teammates right now. There is no hole to large that they don’t feel they can’t come back from. This is great, but dangerous. The ability to come from behind is hit and miss. Teams that tempt fate more often than not will falter sooner than later. It goes back to the Corsi discussion in reality. If you are consistently losing the puck possession battle, eventually you will lose more than you win. Similarly, if you continuously allow teams to jump out to leads on you, eventually the comebacks start coming up short.
Drew Doughty continues to make his push for the Conn Smythe trophy, but the Kings have found success in these finals because of their depth. They are getting contributions from every line. In Game One it was Kyle Clifford who got the rally started for Los Angeles. In Game Two it was Dwight King and his controversial goal which got the rally started. They are getting contributions from everywhere, which is why they are so confident in their ability to come from behind. There is a resilience right now that stems from depth. Most years you can pinpoint a goaltender, or a top line for a team’s success, but the Kings are winning by committee. A true team game that is proving just how vital it is to have four lines of players who can play hockey, not two lines that can score, one line that can check, and a fourth line of three minute a night guys. Four solid lines, all with the ability to play the actual game of hockey.
"Depth only matters when you win. You need depth when you get to overtime games and games after overtime games. We've managed to do that. We've moved guys around. Obviously guys get banged up and things like that. But that is your biggest issue always in a series. It's not just playing guys; it's getting the quality, getting good minutes out of them." (NHL.com)
| Team | GF | GA | CF% | FF% |
| Los Angeles Kings | 3 | 4 | 51.0% | 53.4% |
| New York Rangers | 4 | 3 | 49.0% | 46.6% |
The Kings are owning the Corsi numbers in this series including when the game is close, which comes as no surprise. The ability to control this through two games has been a huge factor in their ability to come from behind. But Henrik Lundqvist has yet to play his ‘A’ game, which has been a factor as well. The Kings are playing with fire by letting the Rangers jump out to these leads, and with the series shifting back to New York, there is no better time than tonight for the Kings to get their first lead in this series.
New York Rangers Preview
The Rangers have to be wondering what they need to do to win a hockey game. They have led in both games, they have forced overtime, they have matched the Kings physically, and yet they are down 2-0 heading into tonight’s pivotal Game Three. With the series shifting back to Madison Square Garden, the Rangers will be hoping to build off the energy of their home crowd.
Henrik Lundqvist has been less King and more Pauper through the first two games. The Kings are peppering him with shots, and finding holes that are uncharacteristic of Lundqvist. He has allowed some questionable goals, and in Game Two he let the frustration rattle him when the Kings scored the controversial goal. The Rangers were still leading at the point that goal went in, they remained in control of the outcome. But with Lundqvist losing his mind, and the rest of the team following suit, the Rangers allowed the Kings to come back. Whether or not the goal should have counted is a moot point, the Rangers remained in the lead and failed to close out the game. It was not the winning goal, it was not even the tying goal, but it dominated the Rangers mentality and they would never recover. Lundqvist needs to return to the player which led these Rangers to the Cup final, he needs to be the MVP.
They need to forget about the goal and focus on why they are failing to close out these games. The nasty habit of blowing two goal leads has to be troubling for New York. The inability to control a lead is mentally taxing, and with the Kings coming from behind in both games, the Rangers are fragile. They must be feeling like no lead is safe, and if they don’t respond to this mentality in the correct way, this series is over.
Wrap Up
If New York doesn’t respond with a victory tonight, this series is all but over. The Kings have gotten inside the heads of these Rangers, not only with the controversial goal, but with their resilience in the face of deficits. No lead is safe for New York, and both the Rangers and Kings know it. The Rangers need to channel the energy from their home crowd tonight, get out to a lead, and not allow the Kings to come from behind. This trend of giving up leads needs to end for New York, not only so they can win a game, but so they can prove to themselves that they are capable of holding a lead. Lundqvist has to respond with his best game, and Rick Nash needs to find a way to be a difference maker (story of his Playoff career).