Kings Looking For Stanley Cup Crown
The Los Angeles Kings got their Stanley Cup final off to the best possible start with a victory in game one yesterday evening as they beat New York Rangers 3-2 after over-time.
The Kings showed how strong they are mentally as they had to claw back a two-goal deficit in the tie from very early in the clash. They started slowly but were the stronger of the two teams in the latter stages.
Jeff Carter assisted Kyle Clifford for Los Angeles’ opener to reward Betfair backers of the opening goal, before Drew Doughty put them back on level terms in the second period.
There were no goals in the third period of the opening Stanley Cup final game in what was a tight segment of the encounter. The winner did come four minutes into over-time though, as Justin Williams separated the sides when he shot past Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist to find the net.
Los Angeles are going to be difficult to beat now that they are in front in the series and are favourites in the outright market to get their hands on the trophy. They are known as being the comeback Kings as they usually have to come from behind, however, they have started well this time around.
This is the third play-off meeting between the two sides and on both of their previous meetings the Kings have come out on top. The first was in 1979, while two years later they prevailed against New York side to continue their excellent head-to-head record.
The Kings will have home advantage for the second game of the series which takes place on Saturday, June 7. They will start as the Betfair favourites where they will be hoping their own fans can inspire them to a 2-0 lead which would put them a step closer to winning the Stanley Cup for 2014.
Rangers have to wait until Monday, June 9 to play at Madison Square Garden. They play game three and four in New York, while the sixth game of the series is scheduled there.
Los Angeles finished the regular season with 100 points with a record of 46-28-8. That was enough to put them sixth in the West. New York, on the other hand, accumulated 96 points which left fifth in the East. |
