Combination of depth and luck helped Kings beat Rangers to win Stanley Cup

 source : faceoff.com

All the New York Rangers kept going back to was how it could've been different. Not necessarily regrets about how they played against the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup final but because of the 50/50 moments.

"A few bounces either way it could be a different outcome," Rangers defenceman Kevin Klein said earlier this week.

Enough didn't come to reverse the tide, and on Friday night the Kings finished off the Rangers in five games to capture their second Cup in three years. In the after light of this championship, there will be plenty of dynasty talk — and well-deserved — but in the rewind of this final, two major themes emerged as reasons they are again on top of the NHL: Luck and depth.

It's not necessarily better to be lucky than good in hockey, but for the Kings it was a combination of both. But their best pure game of the season was their only loss, thanks to Henrik Lundqvist, Antron Stralman, Derek Stepan and a pile of snow in the crease.

In Games 1 and 2, each one an overtime victory following a two-goal comeback, the Kings got their break before the Rangers could. No goaltender interference being called on Dwight King's Game 2 goal didn't hurt, either.

There were so many funky bounces that "puck luck" became a cliche before the series ended. After the Rangers won Wednesday to avoid the first Cup final sweep since 1998, coach Alain Vigneault wondered if "maybe the luck is changing a little bit."

That was wishful thinking, in part because these Kings turned out to be too deep and too strong to let luck send the series back to New York and make things interesting. The New Jersey Devils followed that pattern two years ago by winning Game 5 and forcing another cross-country flight after Los Angeles took a 3-0 series lead.

These Kings weren't nearly as much of a buzzsaw as the 2012 incarnation. In 2014 they needed seven games in each of the first three series, including a comeback from a 3-0 hole against the San Jose Sharks in the first round.

But depth ultimately defined Los Angeles's second Cup. In the final, 15 goals were scored by 12 different players, including two apiece by Conn Smythe winner Justin Williams, captain Dustin
Brown and deadline acquisition Marian Gaborik.

"Depth has been huge," No. 1 defenceman Drew Doughty said. "That's how you win championships."
Before the Kings took a stranglehold of the series, coach Darryl Sutter opined that "depth only matters when you win." Three straight overtime games from the end of the Western Conference final through the start of the final required it.

"We've moved guys around," Sutter said. "Obviously guys get banged up and things like that. But that is your biggest issue always in a series. It's not just playing guys, it's getting the quality, getting good minutes out of them."

In these playoffs, the Kings had five players — Doughty, defencemen Jake Muzzin, Slava Voynov and Willie Mitchell and centre Anze Kopitar — averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. Eleven different players had at least 10 points over the 26-game run.

"I think just believe that anybody can do it," Kopitar said. "It's not like when we get down, everybody looks at, I don't know, Carts to go do it. It's everybody taking pride, chipping in, helping each other out."

Rangers centre Brad Richards, the closest thing New York had to a captain since Ryan Callahan was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of the package for Martin St. Louis, called the Kings a "cool, collected team that doesn't get rattled and it just seems that they're scoring at the right times and getting big saves at the right times."

Unlike in 2012, the Kings couldn't call goaltender Jonathan Quick their best player in the playoffs. On the way to that Conn Smythe, Quick went 16-4 with a 1.41 goals-against average, .946 save percentage and three shutouts.

Quick's numbers were more pedestrian this time around, but his 32-save shutout in Game 3 put Los Angeles on the verge.

Luck certainly helped in the clinching Game 5, when the Rangers hit the post not once but twice in overtime before Alec Martinez scored the winner.

Los Angeles Kings win Stanley Cup in double overtime nail-biter over Rangers

source : faceoff.com

The Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup the hard way, ending their marathon playoff run with a double overtime thriller.

A post-season that started with the Kings having to dig themselves out of a three-game hole against San Jose ended Friday night in a 3-2 double-overtime triumph over the New York Rangers to seal their second Cup in three seasons.

The final lasted five games, with three going to overtime — including two double OT contests. It was the only playoff series that didn't go the distance for the Kings.

Alec Martinez's winner at 14:43 of the second overtime was a fitting conclusion to a post-season slog that saw the Kings run a gauntlet of Western Conference heavyweights before dispatching the speedy Rangers in the final.

It was the 26th game of the Los Angles playoff run, matching the single-year league record set by Philadelphia in 1987 and Calgary in 2004, who both lost seven-game series in the final. L.A. did set a record for most playoff games by a Cup winner.

The Kings had to go through a murderer's row in the West just to get to the final after finishing 10th in the league with a 46-26-8 record and 100 points. Los Angles had to get by San Jose (111 points), Anaheim (116) and defending champion Chicago (107) in one of the most gruelling post-season routes on record.

They overcame a 3-2 series deficit in the second round against Anaheim and rallied from 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 deficits in Game 7 of the Western Conference final in Chicago.

Their latest campaign lasted 115 games, counting seven pre-season, 82 regular-season and a record 26 post-season contests.

Los Angeles went 7-0 in playoff elimination games along the way. Only the 1975 Islanders won more (eight).

The Kings are only the fourth team in playoff history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit in rallying to beat the Sharks in the first round. And they are the first team to play — and win — three Game 7s on the road in a single post-season.

Throughout it all burned the belief that if the Kings played their game, they knew they were tough to beat.

"We really earned it," said forward Justin Williams, named winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after opening the scoring with his ninth goal and 25th point of the post-season.

"It's been a wild year," said forward Jeff Carter. "A lot of hockey, a lot of ups and downs ... We had to dig deep. We really had to battle."

Like teammate Drew Doughty, Carter won Olympic gold and hoisted the Cup in 2014.

"A hell of a year," he said. "Couldn't ask for anything more."

Captain Dustin Brown hoisted the Cup first, then handed it off to veteran defenceman Robyn Regehr, a spectator since suffering an injury in Game 1 of the Anaheim series.

Brown sacrificed his body to get to the Cup, delivering 125 hits in the post-season. The native of Ithaca, N.Y., is the first U.S.-born captain to win multiple Stanley Cups.

Family and friends packed the ice as fans pressed their nose to the glass to watch the post-game partying. Coach Darryl Sutter watched with a smile, his son Christopher — who has Down Syndrome — hoisting the Cup in the celebration.

"You got to give these guys full marks," he said simply of his players.

The Kings squandered 3-0 series leads both times en route to hoisting the Cup. But they got the job done in five games — three wins coming via overtime — this time compared to six against New Jersey in 2012.

Los Angeles' remarkable road to this Cup was long and tortuous. It was an edge-of-your-seat record-setting ride though all-comers that will be hard to beat.

Martinez ended the longest game in Kings' history, surpassing Game 5 of the 2013 Western Conference final (91:40), by wristing home a rebound of a Tyler Toffoli shot to seal the Cup.

"I haven't been married and I haven't had kids but as far as I'm concerned so far this is the greatest feeling in the world," Martinez said.

"It came out pretty quick," he said of the rebound. "I just tried to get it on net then I blacked out."
It was the 17th Stanley Cup-clinching overtime goal in NHL history.

Martinez eliminated the Chicago Blackhawks in OT in Game 7 of the Western Conference final at Chicago on June 1. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he joins Martin Gelinas (Calgary, 2004) and Adam Henrique (New Jersey, 2012) as the only players in NHL history to notch two series-clinching overtime goals in one post-season.

Amazingly Los Angeles did not hold a lead in the first three games of the final. The Kings led for just 14.6 per cent of the first four games — a 40:01 stretch that was all in Game 3.

The Kings trailed 2-0 the first two games of the series but rallied both times to win in OT.
The Rangers probably deserved better.

"Obviously everybody's very disappointed in the outcome," said New York coach Alain Vigneault whose team went past Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Montreal en route to the Rangers' first final in 20 years.

"You go into this hoping that you don't regret anything. We put it out there," he added. "We gave our best shot, best effort. Three games here all went to OT. What can I say?"

The never-say-die Kings, who trailed by two goals four times in the first two games of the final, proved once again that the third period is their domain. They have four victories this post-season when trailing after two periods. And in mounting the latest comeback, they put an end to New York's remarkable 5-0 record in elimination games.

The win improved the Kings' playoff overtime record in 2014 to 5-2.

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist kept the Rangers in the game for the second outing in a row. The elegant Swede stood on his head for much of the evening, especially when push came to shove.

"During the regular time he made some big saves. I thought in the overtime, though, that's when we played our better hockey of the night," said Vigneault. "Had some real good looks. Both goaltenders were outstanding."

Lundqvist ended the evening face down in disbelief. He may still be shaking his head.

The contest started slowly and took its time to boil, but finished in nail-biting, adrenalin-pumping end-to-end fashion.

The third period was all Kings as a goal by Marian Gaborik pulled Los Angeles even at 2-2 some eight minutes in. Gaborik knocking in a rebound of a Doughty wrister from the point at 7:56. It was his 14th of the playoffs — following a season in which he had 11 goals in 41 games.

Los Angeles outshot New York 12-3 in the period and 29-15 in regulation time. The shots were 42-25 for L.A. after four periods of hockey and 51-30 when the dust settled.

Overtime was a thrill ride as both teams hit the post and Los Angeles poured it on. The Kings also had to kill off a minor penalty in each overtime.

New York defenceman Ryan McDonagh hit the post with a blast from the blue-line in the first OT period. Toffoli also rang a shot off the post, some 13 minutes in. Lundqvist stopped Williams twice at point-blank range during one sequence late in overtime as the Kings turned the screws.

Then the Rangers mounted two assaults on the L.A. goal before Chris Kreider fired wide on a semi-breakaway.

In the second overtime, a Dan Girardi shot clipped the outside of the Kings post and L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick make several key saves.

Kreider and Brian Boyle scored for the Rangers in a 3:53 stretch late in the second period — the first on the power-play, the second short-handed — as New York clawed its way back to lead 2-1 after 40 minutes that saw just 12 shots on the L.A. goal.

That New York outburst silenced the sellout crowd of 18,713 at Staples Center.

The Rangers were 11-1 when leading after two periods in the playoffs and had won 39 of 43 games in that scenario including the regular season. But L.A. refused to go quietly.

The Kings have outscored their opponents 30-16 in the third period this post-season, including 3-0 in the Cup final.

Friday's game was the 93rd game of the 2014 playoffs, surpassing the previous single-year record of 92 established in 1991.

It was also the 63rd post-season game for the Kings dating to 2012, tying the NHL record for most games over a three-year span (Dallas, 1998-00; Detroit: 2007-09).

It was the 25th post-season game for the Rangers, who finished 12th in the league at 45-31-6 and 96 points but still made it to their first final in 20 years by eliminating Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Montreal.

Going into Friday, the Rangers were 5-0 when facing elimination. Lundqvist led the way in such games with a 1.00 goals-against average and .971 save percentage.

The Rangers' record in elimination matches is now 11-3 dating back to 2012.

New York hadn't got a shot on target by the time the Kings went ahead at 6:04, with Williams scoring on a deft backhand as linemates Jarret Stoll and Dwight King poked away at Lundqvist after a shot from the point by Willie Mitchell.

It took New York almost eight minutes to record a shot on goal. That followed a third period in Game 4 in which they only managed one shot.

It took the Kings some 27 minutes to crack double digits in shots. New York, frustrated for stretches by the L.A. forecheck, was stuck at seven.

The New York power play, 1-for-19 in the final up until then, finally clicked at 15:37 of the second period as Kreider tipped in a McDonagh feed from the faceoff circle to tie it at 1-1. McDonagh threaded the pass through three Kings to set up the goal, which came on the Rangers' 11th shot of the night.

McDonagh, who turned 25 on Friday, becomes the first player to record a point on his birthday in the Cup final since Jari Kurri did it in 1990 for the Oilers.

Boyle then scored shorthanded to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 19:30. The big man deftly roofed the puck after a nice curl-and-drag past Doughty, with New York's Dominic Moore in the penalty box for hooking. The speedy Carl Hagelin triggered the play, beating defenceman Slava Voynov to the puck, as Boyle notched his third of the post-season.

The Rangers' third short-handed goal of the playoffs had Moore celebrating in the box.

The Kings ranked 26th in the league in average goals per game during the regular season, averaging
2.42 a game. It helped that they led the league with just 2.05 goals against per game.

They found their scoring touch in the playoffs, leading all teams with an average of 3.40 goals a game going into Friday.

It was the 26th overtime game of the playoffs, tied for the third-highest total in one year (the record of 28 was set in 1993).

Los Angeles is the 17th team in NHL history to win the Cup in overtime and the first to do so at home since the 1908 Islanders

Séries 2014 : Les Kings éliminent les Blackhawks #hawks #kings #hockey #icehockey #playoffs

Source : 985sports.ca

Les Kings de Los Angeles ont défait les Blackhawks de Chicago 5-4 en prolongation, dimanche, lors du septième match de la finale de l'Ouest.

Dès mercredi, les Kings affronteront les Rangers de New York en finale de la Coupe Stanley.
Après avoir mené la série finale de l'Association de l'Ouest 3-1, les Kings de Los Angeles ont assisté, impuissants, à la remontée des Blackhawks de Chicago qui ont forcé la tenue d'un septième match.

Mais durant ce match ultime, ce sont les Kings qui ont fait preuve de résilience, effaçant d'abord un déficit de deux buts en 1re période, puis en égalisant la marque à trois reprises pour forcer la tenue d'une période de prolongation.

En surtemps, Alec Martinez a été crédité du but vainqueur à 5:47 de la première période de prolongation.

«Nous ne lâchons jamais... Quelqu'un nous a décrit comme des coquerelles qui ne sont pas tuables», a déclaré Martinez.

Marian Gaborik avait fait bouger les cordages avec 7:17 à faire en temps réglementaire. Le gardien des Blackhawks Corey Crawford avait stoppé le tir initial de Dustin Brown, mais le retour avait atteint Gaborik dans la poitrine et l'attaquant slovaque avait été en mesure de pousser la rondelle dans l'objectif.

En prolongation, Martinez a décoché un tir de la pointe qui a dévié sur le défenseur des Blackhawks Nick Leddy avant de passer par-dessus Crawford et d'aboutir dans le fond du filet.

Jeff Carter, Justin Williams et Tyler Toffoli ont aussi marqué pour les Kings, qui ont également vu Jonathan Quick effectuer 37 arrêts.

Patrick Sharp, deux fois, Brandon Saad et Jonathan Toews ont fourni la réplique pour les Blackhawks, qui espéraient obtenir l'occasion de défendre leur titre de la coupe Stanley.

Crawford a cédé cinq fois contre 32 tirs.

Avec cette victoire, les Kings sont devenus la première équipe de la LNH à disputer 21 matchs en trois rondes éliminatoires pour avancer en finale de la Coupe Stanley. Ils sont également devenus la première équipe de la LNH à remporter trois matchs no 7 sur la route en une même saison éliminatoire. La troupe de l'entraîneur Darryl Sutter a effacé un retard de 3-0 face aux Sharks de San Jose en première ronde et accusait un déficit de 3-2 face aux Ducks d'Anaheim au deuxième tour, mais ils ont remonté la pente à chaque fois. Ils ont une fiche de 7-0 depuis le début du tournoi printanier quand ils font face à l'élimination.

La finale de la Coupe Stanley débutera mercredi, à Los Angeles. Les Kings affronteront les Rangers de New York et tenteront de remporter les grands honneurs pour une deuxième fois en trois saisons.

Des Kings résilients

La rencontre a été disputée à un rythme endiablé et les gardiens n'ont pas été les vedettes lors du premier vingt. Saad a ouvert la marque après 5:06 de jeu. Il a effectué un tir d'un angle restreint et la rondelle a dévié sur Quick avant de tomber derrière la ligne des buts.

Toews a doublé l'avance des Blackhawks 3:30 plus tard lors d'une supériorité numérique. La remise de Brent Seabrook a dévié sur Patrick Kane, qui a récolté deux aides, avant d'aboutir sur la lame du bâton de Toews. Le capitaine a profité d'une cage béante pour inscrire son neuvième but des séries.

Les Kings se sont mis en marche et ont nivelé la marque grâce à des réussites de Carter et Williams dans un intervalle de 51 secondes, mais Sharp a riposté seulement 12 secondes plus tard.

Toffoli a fait 3-3 à mi-chemin en deuxième période quand ce fut au tour des Kings de profiter d'un bond chanceux. Le tir de Matt Greene a atteint un joueur des Hawks dans l'enclave et la rondelle a glissé vers Toffoli. Crawford était compromis et le jeune attaquant des Kings n'a pas raté sa chance.

Sharp a lancé les Blackhawks en avant pour une troisième fois avec 1:35 à faire au deuxième engagement. Il a battu Quick d'un bon lancer des poignets alors que le gardien des Kings avait la vue voilée par son défenseur Jake Muzzin.

On croyait que ce but allait être suffisant pour que les Blackhawks puissent tenter de devenir la première équipe depuis les Red Wings de Detroit en 1997 et 1998 à défendre avec succès leur titre de la coupe Stanley, mais Gaborik et Martinez en ont décidé autrement.

Résumé du match

1re période

Et les champions en titre de la Coupe Stanley ne perdent pas de temps pour prendre les devants. Brandon Saad déjoue Jonathan Quick d'un angle difficile alors qu'il se trouvait le long de la ligne des buts à la gauche du gardien des Kings. Saad a marqué son sixième des séries à 5:06 sur des passes de Patrick Kane (11) et Andrew Shaw (6). Kings 0 - Blackhawks 1

Puis, trois minutes trente secondes plus tard, les Blackhawks doublent leur avance quand Jonathan Toews inscrit son neuvième des séries en supériorité numérique à 8:36 alors que Justin Williams était au banc des pénalités pour avoir fait trébucher Michal Rozsival. Kings 0 - Blackhawks 2

Alors que les Blackhawks continuent de mettre de la pression sur les Kings, les champions de la Coupe Stanley de 2012 ont réussi à réduire l'écart à un seul but quand Jeff Carter a fait dévier au fond du filet un haut rebond accordé par Corey Crawford. Le jeu a d'abord été révisé pour que les officiels s'assurent que Carter n'avait pas poussé la rondelle avec son bâton plus haut que la hauteur permise. Finalement, le but a été accordé. Kings 1 - Blackhawks 2

Ce but semble avoir réveillé les Kings puisque moins d'une minute plus tard, ils ont réussi à niveler la marque. Justin Williams a inscrit son septième des séries à 17:22. Kings 2 - Blackhawks 2

Mais 12 secondes plus tard, les Blackhawks reprennent les devants quand Patrick Sharp a déjoué Quick à 17:34. Kings 2 - Blackhawks 3

2e période

À mi-chemin en 2e, Tyler Toffoli a de nouveau créé l'égalité avec son septième but des séries à 10:31. Kings 3 - Blackhawks 3

Puis Patrick Sharp a profité d'un jeu de puissance pour marquer son deuxième de la soirée - son cinquième des séries - pour redonner les devants aux Blackhawks à 18:25. Kings 3 - Blackhawks 4

3e période

En 3e, un seul but a été marqué, celui de Marian Gaborik à 12:43, permettant aux Kings de niveler la marque et de forcer une période de prolongation. Kings 4 - Blackhawks 4

Prolongation

À 5:47 de la première période de prolongation, Alec Martinez a décoché un tir de la pointe qui a dévié sur le
défenseur des Blackhawks Nick Leddy avant de passer par-dessus Crawford et d'aboutir dans le fond du filet.

Victoire des Kings de Los Angeles qui éliminent les Blackhawks de Chicago.

Notes d'avant-match: Blackhawks ou Kings en finale?

Jonathan Quick aimerait mieux pouvoir se reposer que de devoir disputer un autre match ultime. Il ne peut cependant pas y faire grand-chose.

La série excitante et remplie de rebondissements entre les Kings de Los Angeles et les Blackhawks de Chicago se terminera lors du septième match qui aura lieu dimanche, à Chicago.

«Je crois qu'on peut s'y habituer, a dit Quick après la défaite de 4-3 des siens lors du sixième match. On ne veut pas s'y habituer. Si on joue sept matchs dans chaque série, ça va être dur sur le corps. Nous sommes dans cette situation.»

Ce sera le troisième match ultime des séries pour les Kings, qui ont perdu les trois premiers matchs contre les Sharks de San Jose au premier tour avant de venir de l'arrière. Ils ont disputé le maximum de matchs contre les Ducks d'Anaheim en deuxième ronde et ils ont bousillé une avance de 3-1 face aux Hawks en finale d'association.

L'équipe gagnante de ce duel accueillera les Rangers de New York, mercredi, lors du premier match de la finale de la Coupe Stanley.

Tandis que les Kings tentaient de mettre de côté leur rage et leur frustration après avoir raté deux occasions de mettre fin à la série, les Blackhawks respiraient plus facilement après le sixième match.

«C'est bien de voir notre acharnement, non seulement dans ce match mais dans la série, a déclaré le capitaine Jonathan Toews. Nous nous donnons une bonne chance en retournant à domicile pour le dernier match.»

Plusieurs croyaient que les Blackhawks n'avaient plus aucune chance de remporter la série après avoir perdu le quatrième match. Les deux défaites à Los Angeles les ont poussés au bord du gouffre, eux qui avaient éliminé les Kings en finale d'association l'an dernier avant de mettre la main sur le titre.

Au lieu de baisser les bras, les Hawks ont répliqué avec deux grandes victoires. Ils ont gagné en deuxième prolongation lors du cinquième match à Chicago grâce au but de Michal Handzus et le match de vendredi a été aussi intense.

Les Blackhawks ont poussé la série à la limite alors que Patrick Kane a touché la cible en fin de troisième période.

Les Hawks menaient 2-1 après les buts de Kane et de Ben Smith au deuxième tiers, mais il y a eu deux revirements de situation en troisième.

Les Kings semblaient être en voie de mettre un terme à la série lorsque Alec Martinez a battu Corey Crawford pour porter la marque à 3-2 en faveur des siens.

Kane et les Hawks n'avaient toutefois pas dit leur dernier mot. Le petit attaquant a préparé le but de Duncan Keith avant d'inscrire le but gagnant avec 3:45 à faire à la rencontre.