The Los Angeles Kings are on another one of those runs that makes you wonder why it took them so long to get here.
First, just when you thought that they were done for the year, down 3-0 to the rival San Jose Sharks, the Kings came roaring back behind the defensive shoulders of Drew Doughty, and the sheer goal scoring acumen of trade deadline rental Marian Gaborik. Then, for an encore, they stomped much more talented Anaheim Ducks squad into submission, leaving the beleaguered water fowl to turn to a fourth level goaltender. At the end of the day, even superhero keeper John Gibson couldn’t withstand the Kings’ muscle.
Two rounds down, 14 out of 14 possible games played, and the Kings had to face their most daunting task yet. The Kings, heavy down the middle, play a punishing game. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks are built to win fast, win with skill, and just leave you wondering where in the world Patrick Kane learned to shoot through solid concrete. Even when it looked like Dustin Brown and company were going to cough up the kitty, allowing the Blackhawks to tie the series up and force a game 7, the Kings found a way to win. They did it behind what is quite possibly the ugliest goal of the playoffs, leaving Nick Leddy unable to speak and wanting to question whether his shoulder was a Kings fan.
It’s the stuff of legend, and even though normally air tight goaltender Jonathan Quick seems human, there doesn’t seem to be a team in the league that could beat the Kings. With a center corps that has size and some speed, featuring Anze Koptiar and Mike Richards, and wingers Gaborik and Jeff Carter rounding out an offense that seems to get all the bounces, and the best defenseman in the league in Doughty, what team from the East could beat the West Coasters. As tough as coach Daryl Sutter’s glare, the Kings can stare down any team in the league.
Don’t schedule the parade just yet.
The New York Rangers started the season less than glamorously. They won just 3 of their first 11 games. There was quite a bit of doubt that the Rangers, who were spent right to the salary cap, and sporting a new system under a new coach, would even make the playoffs, let alone go on a deep run.
Henrik Lundqvist started out looking like a shell of himself, and for most of the first three months of the season was outplayed by his understudy. Finally, with a brand new contract, the King slowly reclaimed his throne. Then it became all about struggling to score. Bench Boss Alain Vigneault was super patient, convinced that, for the most part, the pieces were there. GM Glen Sather, despite the threat of a lynch mob appearing, traded his captain Ryan Callahan for Tampa Bay captain Marty St. Louis.
The Rangers dropped into the playoffs, fighting for the #2 seed in the weak Metro, and got the privilege of facing the knuckle sandwich Philadelphia Flyers. Despite skating circles around them for huge portions of the series, the Rangers couldn’t resist the urge to let the Flyers hang around, letting Wayne Simmonds score a hat trick to force a game 7.
We know how that ended – and how the next series, against the high octane Pittsburgh Penguins, started. The Rangers took the first game, but dropped the next three. Some wondered how much the Rangers had left in the tank.
Then something magical happened. Chris Kreider came back from injury, Vighneault figured out how to get under Crosby’s skin, and St Louis’ mother, France, passed away unexpectedly. Finally, these Rangers suddenly had something to believe in, to rally around. The Rangers proceeded to come back from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in franchise history.
Then came the mighty Montreal Canadiens. The Habs had done a magical favor for everyone in the league, offing the Boston Bruins in a massively emotional series. The Rangers dominated and embarrassed the Habs in game 1, which left the Habs without Olympic gold medalist netminder Carey Price sidelined with a knee injury. The Habs nearly had the Rangers figured out, forcing a game 6, before the Rangers, squarely on Lundqvist’s and the deep defensive corps shoulders, shut the Habs down to clinch their first trip to the big dance in 20 years.
2014 Stanley Cup Final Preview
So, what can we expect from this bicoastal finals that has Gary Bettman wetting himself with glee?
Expect fast hockey. Expect legendary goaltending. There will be tears, and joy, and most of all there will be a classic final frame of Lord Stanley’s Spring Carnival.
The Kings most certainly have the edge at forward, the Rangers have the depth at defense that the Kings wish they had. And there are those goaltenders – quite possibly the top two netminders in the world will be looking at each other from opposite ends of the rink in Los Angeles.
It will be a series of bounces. It will be a series of hard hits and picked pockets. It will be a war, not of words, but of wills. What’s on the line? It’s just the greatest trophy in all of sports anywhere in the world – Lord Stanley’s silver chalice.
Buckle up ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages. This is the stuff dreams are made of.
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