June has arrived and so have the Stanley Cup Finals. For the first time in 20 years, the New York Rangers will be the Eastern Conference representative in the Stanley Cup Finals as they face off against the Los Angeles Kings. The Broadway Blueshirts are looking for their first Stanley Cup championship since 1994, while the Kings are looking for their second title in three years.
In fact, the Kings defeated the Rangers’ arch-rival New Jersey Devils in six games during the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals. Fortunately for the Rangers, these are not the Kings of 2012. 2014 will be the year that the lights will shine on Broadway as the Rangers will raise their fifth Stanley Cup banner on the rafters of Madison Square Garden and here is why.
1. Emotion
Rangers forward Martin St. Louis’ mother France passed away during the Rangers’ Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. With the help of his teammates, St.Louis has been able to battle his grief and the Rangers have rallied behind him as a result. This emotional edge has helped fuel the Rangers comeback against the Penguins after trailing in the series three games to one. Eventually, the emotion carried over into the Eastern Conference Finals as the Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games to clinch their Stanley Cup berth. Overall, winning isn’t just about skill; it is about the will as well and it should carry over into the Finals for the Rangers.
2. Goaltending
Shockingly, the Rangers actually have the edge at goaltending in this series. Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick has stepped up this postseason in many big games for the Kings but Henrik Lundqvist has lived up to his reputation as the “King”. Lundqvist has led all playoff goalies in save percentage and will be the x-factor for the Rangers in this series. On one hand, Hockey fans have seen the human side of Quick, especially during the Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks. On the other hand, Lundqvist has been a stone wall for the Rangers and the numbers have shown it. In other words, the goalie matchup will be the one to watch but the Rangers have the upper hand in net.
3. Fatigue Factor
The New York Rangers will be going into Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals on six days rest after their Game Six victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Kings clinched their Stanley Cup berth after a game winning goal by defenseman Alec Martinez in overtime in Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals. This Game Seven victory was the Kings’ third straight. The Kings defeated the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the playoffs after a tremendous comeback from being down three games to none. After that, the Kings moved on to the Western Conference Finals after defeating the Anaheim Ducks in seven games as well. In the NHL, fatigue is always a factor and after three straight seven game series with limited rest, it will be too much for them to handle. Hockey fans saw how the Rangers exploited the Canadiens’ lack of conditioning with their speed. The Canadiens’ elite defenseman P.K Subban felt the wrath in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals when he sat out of an important shift late in the game. In the end, conditioning is one of most underrated factors that a championship team has to have and the Rangers speed and endurance will elevate them to the top.
Finally, the Broadway Blueshirts are what hockey fans call championship deprived teams “cup hungry” and this mentality of emotion in addition to solid goaltending and endurance will take the Rangers into sports lore as they will hoist the Lord’s Stanley Cup down the Canyon of Heroes.
Phil Novotny can be reached at philip.novotny@theminaretonline.com
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Kings won Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals last night over the Rangers last night in overtime by the score of 3-2. L.A’s Justin Williams scored the game winning goal.