The Stanley Cup Final will start tomorrow night in Los Angeles, with the Eastern Conference Champion New York Rangers taking on the Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Kings. The Rangers are making their 1st trip to the Stanley Cup since 1994, while the Kings are returning for the 2nd time in 3 seasons. It is going to be a great finals, here is my preview and prediction:
Los Angeles Kings vs. New York Rangers:
Season Series:
Season Series tied 1-1-0:
3-1 (New York)
1-0 (Los Angeles)
Players to Watch:
Los Angeles: Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick, Tyler Toffoli, Justin Williams
New York: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin St. Louis, Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash, Brad Richards, Derek Stepan
X-Factor:
Drew Doughty (LAK) Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
Playoff Point Leaders:
Los Angeles: Anze Kopitar (24 points)
New York: Martin St. Louis/Derek Stepan/Ryan McDonagh (13 points)
Series Notes:
The 2014 Stanley Cup Finals is a match-up between 2 teams who battled adversity to reach the Stanley Cup. The Kings enter the finals having been the only team in NHL-history to reach the Stanley Cup after 3-straight 7-game series wins. The Kings beat the Sharks in 7 after trailing 3-0, they then beat the Anaheim Ducks in 7 games after trailing 3-2 and finally beat the defending-champion Chicago Blackhawks in 7 games after blowing a 3-1 series lead. Alec Martinez scored the OT winner in game 7 to send the Kings to the finals for the 2nd time in 3 seasons. The Kings are very similar to their 2012 winning team, they have a few changes but none have been bigger than Marian Gaborik. Gaborik leads the NHL in goals with 12 during the playoffs, and it will be interesting to see what he does against his former team the New York Rangers. The Kings are lead by superstar defenseman Drew Doughty, who has been a force during the playoffs. Jonathan Quick has been sharp in net as he was in 2012, and they will need him to match the man at the other end if they want to win this series. The Kings have a very balanced 4-line attack at forward, Darryl Sutter seems to be constantly changing lines because of the depth he has. The Kings will rely on their top 2 lines of Gaborik-Kopitar-Williams and Pearson-Carter-Toffoli to lead the way, but don't be surprised if the depth guys chip in. The Kings will also need a solid effort from their defenseman (Doughty, Muzzin, Voynov etc) if they want to win this series.
The Rangers enter the finals after 3 hard-fought series against Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Montreal. The Rangers beat the Flyers in 7 games, beat the Penguins in 7 games after trailing 3-1 and beat the Canadiens in 6 to get here. This team seems to be sparked by tragedy; after the death of Martin St. Louis's mother it seems the team has really come together and fought for each other every game. They were trailing the Penguins 3-1 at the time of the tragic death, and since then they have gone 7-2. The Rangers are lead by superstar goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, he is the reason they are still playing hockey right now. Lundqvist has been calm, cool and collected the entire playoffs, but he has really picked up his game since the Rangers were down 3-1 to Pittsburgh. Lundqvist will need to match Jonathan Quick at the other end if the Rangers are to win this series. The Rangers will need a lot out of their defenseman to match the high-scoring d-man at the other end, in particular they need a lot out of the trio of Ryan McDonagh-Marc Staal-Dan Girardi. The Rangers aren't as talented at forward as the Kings, but they have a lineup full of roll players who get the job done. They will rely heavily on the top 2 lines of Nash-Stepan-Kreider and St. Louis-Richards-Hagelin to score big goals in this series. As well, look for the 4th line of Dorsett-Boyle-Moore to contribute, that line has been huge throughout the playoffs. The Rangers are definitely the underdogs in this series, but don't count them out just yet.
Predictions: This is going to be a really close series between two defensive-minded teams that have allstar-caliber goaltenders. I am going to give the edge to the 2012 Stanley Cup Champions
(KINGS IN 6)
-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
