The New York Rangers jumped out to an early lead in Game 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, making the Los Angeles Kings look baffled at times by their team speed. As usual, Los Angeles showed that it can shake off some serious body blows, though.
If there’s a theme to the Rangers taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, it’s that the two teams are forcing each other to make mistakes.
To start things off, Benoit Pouliot capitalized on a Drew Doughty turnover to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead:
That combination of Rangers speed and Kings mistakes continued as Carl Hagelin made it 2-0 with a shorthanded tally:
Just when it seemed like the Rangers might leave the Kings in the dust, Los Angeles took advantage of a Derek Stepan gaffe to stay within comfortable distance at 2-1:
The lack of familiarity between these two teams certainly isn’t slowing things down early on. If the first 20 minutes of the Stanley Cup Final are any indication, hockey fans are in for a treat ... even if the coaches of the two teams might end up feeling miserable watching all of these mistakes.