The New York Rangers are not giving up hope, and despite their obvious predicament they shouldn’t. Not this year. This year we have seen comebacks galore. The Kings themselves erased a 3-0 series deficit in Round One, the Rangers for their part erased a 3-1 series deficit against the Penguins in Round Two. There is a glimmer of hope for the Rangers, but the only way that hope turns into results is through the Rangers themselves.
Nobody can do it for them, they need to come together as a team and force this series from an embarrassment into hope.
The King Must Beat the Kings
Henrik Lundqvist is not playing well. Through three games this series he has posted a 3.13 GAA and a .892 SV%.
The numbers don’t lie. He has not been the goalie he was through the first three rounds, and the worst part for New York is that if he was playing even average, they would likely have won a game or two and wouldn’t be on the verge of elimination.
Through the first three rounds the MVP of this Rangers team was Lundqvist. Now? Well now there is no MVP of this team. The Rangers as a whole are playing ok, not great, but not awful. They have dominated at times, kept up physically, gotten leads, and yet they are down 3-0. That is an incredibly demoralizing spot to be in. Thinking you deserve better, having everyone downplay your chances before the series even began, and then proving everyone correct. These things will lead to defeat without even playing the game.
"I know I have to play really well for us to win," Lundqvist said. "But I think when you go out [in Game 4], you don't think about the end result, 'I need to give up one or less.' I need to think about the process. That's stopping the next shot. What do you need to do to stay focused the right way? That's the kind of mindset I have going into the games." (NHL.com)
Tonight needs to be the first step. The Rangers have to set out on the long journey up the mountain they’ve fallen off. If they aren’t mentally strong enough, then tonight’s game is already over, and Lord Stanley will be taking a victory lap in New York tonight.
Conn Smythe Race
If the Kings complete the sweep tonight, it will be the first sweep in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998 when the Red Wings swept the Capitals. With a Stanley Cup victory comes the awarding of the Conn Smythe Trophy for the Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs. This year the candidates were many, but it has become obvious that it will come down to two guys. Drew Doughty or Anze Kopitar.
Drew Doughty
Doughty would be the first defenseman to win the Conn Smythe since Scott Niedermayer won it with Anaheim in 2007. Ironically he is very much like Niedermayer in style of play.
| Player | GP | G | A | P | ATOI | CF% | CF% Rel | QoC TOI% |
| Drew Doughty | 24 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 28:19 | 53.4% | +1.5% | 29.5% |
The numbers don’t lie here. Through 24 games in these Playoffs Doughty has been lights out, offensively, defensively, and has been averaging 28:19 minutes on ice each game! That amount of ice time, combined with his production is incredible in of itself. But when you combine that with the Quality of Competition he has been going up against, namely the top lines from San Jose, Anaheim, and Chicago, the numbers become that much more impressive.
Doughty would be a worthy winner of this trophy, and has shown that he is without a doubt a cornerstone player of this Kings franchise.
Anze Kopitar
Anze Kopitar has been equally as valuable to the Kings this post season. Kopitar is the number one centre for the Kings and has been not only producing offensively throughout, but he has been playing the shutdown role perfectly. His 2-way ability has been a revelation for these Kings so far. Kopitar has used his size, skill, and smarts to outperform the top centres on each and every team throughout these Playoffs. That becomes more impressive when you consider the names, Joe Thornton, Ryan Getzlaf, Jonathan Toews. No slouches here, all outstanding players, all bested by Kopitar.
| Player | GP | G | A | P | ATOI | CF% | Cf% Rel | QoC TOI% |
| Anze Kopitar | 24 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 20:52 | 52.9% | +0.5% | 30.0% |
One of the Kings biggest strengths has been their depth, but that depth means nothing if you don’t have a top line that can go head to head with the oppositions top line. Kopitar has done that, won the possession battles, scored more than a point per game, and has established himself as the premier 2-way centre in the entire NHL. It has been an impressive post season for him.
Wrap Up
Both Kopitar and Doughty would be great Conn Smythe winners, choosing one over the other is not a position of envy. Based on recent history, the odds favor the centre over the defenseman, and if Kopitar does walk away with the trophy, nobody should question the result as he is equally as deserving as Doughty.
No matter what happens tonight, it seems inevitable that the Kings will close out this series and become the Stanley Cup Champions. The emotional war that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs may have finally ravaged the Rangers to the point of defeat. A win by New York tonight would shift the momentum of this series, and could be the start of yet another incredible comeback in these Playoffs. But that only happens if every player in the Rangers dressing room throws fear and doubt and all the other weaknesses that come with defeat, and replace it with tenacity, hope and determination. All New York can do is leave everything they have on the ice and hope it's enough to live another day.