Game one of the Stanley Cup final was all that it was hyped to be.
From the opening faceoff, it was a battle of wills, and the Rangers, behind speed goals from Benoit Pouliot, and a shorthanded tally from Carl Hagelin, jumped out to a 2-0 lead. However, as if Darryl Sutter wrote the script himself Kyle Clifford took advantage of Rangers center Derek Stepan’s defensive zone gaffe to cut the lead in half before the end of the first.
Keep that phrase in mind – defensive zone gaffe.
Through a great deal of the first two periods, the Rangers speed took the Kings by surprise, and they were out skated by the Blueshirts. Even when all world defenseman Drew Doughty scored, again due to the Rangers coughing up the puck in their own end, the Rangers still pushed.
Are we starting to see a theme here?
With the exception of the first half of the third period, when the Rangers were held without a shot until around 9 minutes to go in regulation, the Rangers had the majority of possession as the Kings defense turned the puck over, again and again and again. However, the Rangers seemed to hesitate to shoot. First it was Derek Stepan, wide open on Quick’s blocker side for a shot, that he turned down for a pass. Then it was Rick Nash driving to the net, but turning back at the last moment to allow the Kings defense to knock the puck away.
Let me say it again, for the most part the Rangers out skated the Kings, making Anze Kopitar, Mike Richards, Marian Gaborik, and Jeff Carter look like they were skating through cold maple syrup. The Kings’ gap control just wasn’t a match for the speed of Hagelin, and Chris Kreider, who also was guilty of passing when he should of shot the puck.
It can’t be understated – The Kings were allowed to dictate play in the third, outshooting the Rangers 20-4 in the final regulation frame. They were dominant for exactly 13 minutes of a game that was defined by speed. It should have been all about Henrik Lundqvist and Jon Quick basically playing the goalie version of HORSE, it became more about poor turnovers. The bottom line is that the Rangers weren’t beaten by the Kings. The Rangers were beat by the Rangers.
The perfect example of this storyline is the game winning OT goal, netted by Game 7 ninja Justin Williams. Dan Girardi went back into his own zone after a broken 3 on 2. Instead of having an easy settle down play, he flubs the clearing attempt, goes down on one knee, instead passing to a Kings skater at the point, who gives Williams the puck. That goal, without a question, doesn’t happen if Dan Girardi holds onto the puck and settles things down.
If the Rangers are to split the away games to open this series, the Rangers have two tasks at hand – first, stop giving the Kings freebies in their own zone, and they need to dictate the play throughout all three periods. The Rangers forwards regularly forced the Kings defenders to turn the puck over in their half of the ice. If the Rangers were able to convert even 20% of those gifts, the score would have been much different and would have never gotten to extra time.
For the Kings, it’s all about forging onward and upward. Continue putting yourself in a position to take advantage of bad bounces, and lazy plays. Continue relying on your goaltending and never change your game.
Looking at the storylines leading up to this game, it was a battle of wills, and would be a series of bounces. Game 1 had a lot of both, and, at least for the first game, the series has lived up to those expectations.
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