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NBCSN’s Stanley Cup Final Week: Rangers vs. Kings

Stanley Cup Rangers Kings Hockey

Members of the Los Angeles Kings celebrate Justin Williams’s goal in overtime of Game 1 in the NHL Stanley Cup Final hockey series against the New York Rangers on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, in Los Angeles.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

AP

NBC Sports presents Stanley Cup Final Week on NBCSN, reliving classic Stanley Cup Final games and original films and shows from the past decade across seven nights. Today, we give our memories from the the 2014 Cup Final between the Kings and Rangers.

JAKE: When a series ends in five games, the assumption is that the winning team controlled play for the vast majority of time. But the Kings’ 5-game victory over the Rangers in 2014 hardly played out this way. Check out the following breakdown:

Total Time Tied: 189:07 (51%)
Total Time NYR led: 111:04 (30%)
Total Time LA led: 69:34 (19%)

Going game-by-game, this could easily have been a five-game series in favor of New York, considering the Rangers held a lead in three of the four games they eventually lost, and held multi-goal leads in each of the first two games:


  • Game 1: NYR led 2-0 in 1st period; lost 3-2 in OT
  • Game 2: NYR led 2-0, 3-1, and 4-2; lost 5-4 in 2OT
  • Game 3: LA def. NYR 3-0
  • Game 4: NYR def. LA 2-1 (Rangers never trailed)
  • Game 5: NYR led 2-1 in 3rd period; lost 3-2 in 2OT

The Kings had to win three Game 7s to win the West that year, so perhaps it was no surprise they were able to rally so often during the Cup Final.

SEAN: There was no stopping Justin Williams during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His run to the Conn Smythe Trophy that spring ended with him collecting nine goals and 25 points. “Mr. Game 7" also kept up his knack for coming through in the clutch as he recorded five points in three Game 7s during that run, including the primary assists on Alec Martinez’s Western Conference Final winning goal.

Williams picked up two goals and seven points in the Cup Final against the Rangers, and started the series off with an OT winner in Game 1:

[FULL NBCSN STANLEY CUP WEEK SCHEDULE]

JAMES: When you consider that (spoiler warning) the Kings dispatched the Rangers in a mere five games, it’s fair to argue that New York never really had a chance.

It might be unfair to say that people never thought, even for a moment, that maybe the Rangers might just get something going, though.

That moment happened hilariously early in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. After Benoit Pouliot gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead about 13 minutes into Game 1, Carl Hagelin caused an audible gasp (granted, maybe only in my “parent’s basement”) when he made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal.

During a brief stretch, one couldn’t help but wonder: might the Rangers use their speed to give the defensive-minded Kings some issues?

Maybe the Rangers accomplished that at times, but not enough. To be fair to Hagelin & Co., while the Rangers only won once, the Kings needed overtime for three of their four wins, including the memorable Alec Martinez series-clincher.

***

NBC Sports presents Stanley Cup Final Week on NBCSN, reliving classic Stanley Cup Final games and original films and shows from the past decade across seven nights, beginning on Monday, June 8.

Programming will also stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

Friday, June 12 on NBCSN
• 2014 Stanley Cup Final Game 2: New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles – 8 p.m. ET
• 2014 Stanley Cup Final Game 5: New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles – 9:30 p.m. ET
• 2014 Los Angeles Kings Championship Film – 11 p.m. ET