LOS ANGELES — On a night when the Rangers could have used one more goal in their 3-2 overtime loss to the Kings in Game 1 of these Stanley Cup finals, Martin St. Louis whiffed on a pair of opportunities to deliver it.
The first came 5:33 into the second period, when the Rangers still were clinging to a 2-1 lead and looking to build on it after Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin gave them a power play by picking up an interference penalty.
But when Derek Stepan fed a pass to St. Louis for a golden opportunity to put a third shot past Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, St. Louis wasn’t able to get anything on his shot, and the puck wound up behind Quick’s net.
“I’m disappointed,” St. Louis said. “I had trouble with it.
“It was a great play by [Stepan]. … I expect better out of myself there. I’m disappointed.”
St. Louis got another opportunity with 8:17 to go in the third period, when the Rangers wound up with a two-on-one in the Kings’ zone. After Dan Girardi collected the puck in his own end and threw it off the boards, Kings forward Dustin Brown mishandled it in the neutral zone, allowing Carl Hagelin to carry into the Rangers’ offensive zone.
Hagelin then slid the puck to St. Louis, who found himself in a two-on-one with Brad Richards. But, as the night went for the Rangers after the first period, St. Louis’ shot struck Quick in the mask and bounced harmlessly away. His shot was the first of the third period for the Rangers, who were outshot 20-3 in the third and who saw the Kings dominate most of the play after the opening 20 minutes.
“We ended up spending too much time in our end zone,” St. Louis said. “It’s tough to get on offense when you’re trying to get off the ice.”
Still, despite the way the Rangers ceded control of the puck for much of the game after a strong opening period, St. Louis remained confident in the chances the Rangers were able to create, and expects them to start finding the back of the net beginning with Game 2 at Staples Center on Saturday.
“We created a lot,” he said. “We got some looks. We keep doing that, and we’ll get the timely goal, because we had looks to get that goal.
“Our speed showed up, not just early but a lot of times. We have to take the positives, correct our mistakes and get back to work.”
When St. Louis was asked if he and the other veterans on the team would need to discuss with their younger, less experienced teammates the importance of putting this Game 1 loss behind them, he said that would take care of itself.
“Guys know that,” St. Louis said. “You think about it tonight and tomorrow you wake up and move on. That’s what you have to do.”