After a few days of waiting, the Rangers finally know whom they’ll face in the Stanley Cup finals. They’ll head to Los Angeles to face the Kings as the Blueshirts go for the fifth championship in franchise history.
Here are five things to know about the Kings:
1. Don’t Doughty: Los Angeles leans heavily on star defenseman Drew Doughty, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft and one of the top blue-liners in the NHL. The 24-year-old is averaging better than five minutes of ice time more than any other Kings player during the playoffs, and has contributed four goals and 16 points heading into the Cup finals.
2. Gabby’s back: The Kings also have a powerful corps of forwards capable of changing a game on a dime, led by one very familiar to Rangers fans — Marian Gaborik, who leads all scorers this postseason with 12 goals. The Kings feature several other forwards with double-digit point totals these playoffs, including Anze Kopitar, who leads all players with 23 points, Jeff Carter, Justin Williams and Dustin Brown.
3. Quick to the chase: It’s not often the Rangers go into a game without an advantage in goal because of the excellence of Henrik Lundqvist, but the Kings would at least be able to make a credible argument for their netminder, Jonathan Quick. The Milford, Conn., native already won a Cup with the Kings in 2012, and was the goaltender for Team USA in the Sochi Olympics this year.
4. Powerful Kings: A high-powered offense has helped carry the Kings this far. Los Angeles enters the Cup final with 73 goals in these playoffs, with their goals per game average the best among the 16 playoff teams.
5. Road warriors: The Kings have managed to make it to the Stanley Cup final because they have excelled away from Staples Center. Including their Game 7 win in Chicago, the Kings have won seven of their 12 playoff games away from home — including going 3-0 in Game 7s on the road.
Season series revisited
While both the Rangers and Kings were in the embryonic stage of their seasons, the clubs split a pair of matches, each winning on the road. The partially happy recap:
Rangers 3, Kings 1, Oct. 7 at Los Angeles
The Blueshirts earned their first win of the season and first for coach Alain Vigneault after dropping the season opener in Phoenix. Ryan McDonagh scored the clinching third-period goal shorthanded from approximately 175 feet away. His clear off the wall from the defensive zone caromed in off Jonathan Quick’s pad after the LA goaltender stumbled on his way out to play the puck, lost his stick and fell to one knee.
Kings 1, Rangers 0, Nov. 17 at MSG
The Blueshirts sent 37 shots on Ben Scrivens, but could not beat LA’s backup netminder and lost when Tyler Toffoli beat Henrik Lundqvist early in the second period. The loss marked the second time the Rangers were shut out within the first eight home games and fourth time in 20 games overall.
— Larry Brooks