If you want an image that tells the story of Game 4, a puck hovering right above the New York Rangers’ goal line would work perfectly.
The Rangers were dominated for significant stretches of Wednesday’s contest, yet they survived to extend the 2014 Stanley Cup Final to a Game 5 against the Los Angeles Kings. They couldn’t have asked for a much smaller margin of victory, though.
Much like a stretch in which Anton Stralman saved a goal, the Kings nearly scored with their net empty. With 1:11 left in the third period, officials ultimately determined that a) the puck didn’t go in and b) Derek Stepan didn’t close his glove on the puck in the mad scramble to keep it out:
Here’s a screen grab:
Just to hammer the “by the skin of their teeth” point home, here’s the Stralman save:
Talk about a game of inches/centimeters ...