NHL

Missed shot ‘bothering’ Stralman

Of all the people to be sitting there with his skates on for almost a half hour, there was Anton Stralman, taking waves of questions throughout the Rangers the dour postgame on Saturday night at Staples Center.

The Rangers defenseman had just been an integral part of a heartbreaking 5-4 double-overtime loss to the Kings in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals, dropping his Blueshirts into a 2-0 series hole going back for Game 3 on Monday night at the Garden.

Yet all Stralman could think about was the chance he had 3:42 into the second overtime, a one-timer from about 20 feet away he thought nicked a defenseman’s stick before going wide.

“The chance in overtime — it’s obviously bothering me right now, but it’s a matter of putting that behind us and focusing on our next game,” Stralman said. “It wasn’t a perfect shot, but I thought it was a good shot. I thought actually Willie Mitchell got his stick on it, so I don’t think [goalie Jonathan Quick] even saved it. So that’s even more frustrating, obviously.

“It’s one of those plays that you want back.”

If Stralman wants that play back, the Rangers want him to keep playing the same game, as he joined Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi in the over-30-minute club on Saturday, notching 31:57.

As a pending unrestricted free agent, Stralman’s place on the Rangers this postseason has become immensely valuable, and the main goal for him at this point is not the money that is surely to come, but making sure he gets his Swedish hands on the Stanley Cup.

“It’s not devastating,” he said of the two overtime loses, ‘but it’s tough, obviously, being that close in both games. But at the same time, it’s about putting that behind us, going to New York, that’s our home ice, and showing that if we play like we did [Saturday], I think we have to win.”


The Rangers power play went 1-for-5 on Saturday night, and is now 1-for-8 in the two Cup finals games. Overall, they are 12-for-89 (13.5 percent) in the postseason.

“I think we had a lot of quality chances, we just didn’t score,” said forward Mats Zuccarello. “And we have to score.”