LOS ANGELES – Revenge was on the minds of the red hot Rangers as they embarked upon Los Angeles on Thursday for the first time since last year’s Stanley Cup final. The Rangers rallied from a two-goal deficit and scored four answered goals over an 18-minute span and beat the defending Champions 4-3.
An age-old rivalry was renewed when the two coasts collided upon Staples Center. Los Angeles vs. New York, a tale of two cities that span a continent, yet always seem to meet on sport’s brightest stage. Whether the matchup was Dodgers-Yankees or Lakers-Knicks, up until the 1980s, you could count on a championship being on the line.
But for 33 years, the two largest cities in the United States had not met in a Championship in any of the country’s four major sports. At least that was the case until the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals. The Los Angeles Kings defeated the New York Rangers in dramatic fashion last June to hoist the Stanley Cup trophy for the second time in three years.
The Rangers vividly remember that moment and used it as motivation while on the ice.
“To be honest, it was a little weird walking into the building, but after a few minutes in the dressing room you kind of forget about it,” said Rangers forward Derek Brassard who had two assists in the game. “Before the road trip a lot of guys were looking forward to coming here, there’s nothing better than a California trop but we wanted to compare ourselves to some of the best teams in the league.”
They exceeded in cementing themselves as one of the NHL’s top teams after defeating the Anaheim Ducks and now the Kings, two top teams in the Western Conference.
“It just proves that our system works when we’re playing in sync,” said the Rangers Ryan McDonagh. “It’s not guys trying to go out and do it themselves, it’s little plays and the patience game. We are taking what’s given and putting pressure on them when we have an opportunity.”
The Kings got off to a fast start jumping out to a two-goal lead before fans found their seats. Jeff Carter found Tanner Pearson in front of the net and he flicked it past Talbot in the opening minutes of the first period.
The line of Carter, Pearson and Tyler Toffoli, aptly named by fans as “That 70’s Line,” because all three players jersey numbers are in the 70s, was resurrected for the first time by LA Kings coach Darryl Sutter. That line worked magic against the Rangers and the Western Conference during the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year.
The Rangers got goals from Kevin Klein, Martin St. Louis and Lee Stempniak in a span of 5:46 in the second period and Dan Boyle added a goal and an assist.
Ranger’s goalie, Henrik Lundqvist had the night off on the second night of a back-to-back. Lundqvist was brilliant in goal for New York on Wednesday as the Rangers defeated the NHL leading Anaheim Ducks 4-1.
Cam Talbot played well in his place stopping 28 shots for his fourth victory in five games and he held off the Kings attack with a great save in the closing seconds of the game.
“Lucky," said Talbot about the last save of the game when the Kings had a 6 on 4 advantage. “They had all their guys sitting in front, I looked one way, and they had Carter in the slot, I know Doughty was going to go back to him, so I adjusted on that side and got lucky and got my pad on it and pushed it to the corner.”
The Kings went into the third period trailing for the fifth consecutive game.
Jonathan Quick had 22 saves, but surrendered four goals. Two of those goals were difficult saves as Boyle’s goal ricocheted off Jarret Stoll’s stick and bounced high over Quick. St. Louis’ game-winning goal was wide open after a deflection found him on the right side of the net. The rest of the team was inconsistent defensively and seemed to not want to check or keep up with the speed of the Rangers.
Justin Williams, who won the Con Smythe Trophy last year, led the Kings offensive ice attack with two goals in the game. Dustin Brown had two assists.
“Four goals against yet again, for a team that prides itself on defense, is something inexcusable,” added Williams after the game. “It’s something we’ve tried to clean up, and something we need to continue to do, because we’re not going to win games giving up chances like that. We seem to be in a funk, especially killing penalties. It’s not for a lack of trying. Guys are working as hard as they can. Throughout the season sometimes there are ups and downs. That is a down for us now.”
Game Notes:
Cam Talbot has now won four of his last five starts, each of them shutouts before tonight. With Dan Boyle’s first goal, the Rangers have now scored a power play goal in six of their last seven games and are winners in 12 of their last 13. They will go for the “California Sweep” against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
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