The New York Rangers are considered heavy underdogs in the Stanley Cup Final by most people, as the Los Angeles Kings appear unstoppable on their quest for Lord Stanley. However upsets happen, and as the pressure of the games intensifies teams can falter and lose their way. The Rangers are in deep, there is absolutely no denying it, but there is hope.
Keys for the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final
Rick Nash: Nash has not had the best luck offensively in these Playoffs. Through 21 games he has a mere 3 goals and 7 assists for a total of 10 points. For a guy of his caliber that is simply not good enough. The good news for Rangers fans is that this lack of production is not for lack of effort. Nash has consistently been a force in games, and is putting up fantastic possession stats. His CF% is 52.7% and his CF% Rel is +4.7%. These are good numbers, and they backup the theory that Nash is outplaying the opposition on most nights. This is made more impressive by his QoC TOI%, which is 30.0%. He is putting up a solid CF% against the best opposing players, every single night. The Rangers need the bounces to start going in Nash’s favor, and so long as he continues to do put forth effort, drive the net, win puck battles, and put himself in scoring positions, it is only a matter of time before he starts scoring. But with only three losses remaining on their season, the Rangers need it to happen now.
Intensity: Nothing against the Eastern Conference, but it is not the bruising, physical, war torn conference that the Western Conference is. You need to look no further than the opponents each of these two teams has had to face on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Rangers have gone through the Flyers, Penguins, and Canadiens. The Kings have gone through the Sharks, Ducks, and Blackhawks. The difference in playing style between the teams that the Rangers have taken down, and the teams the Kings have taken down is quite vast. The Kings have had three series go to Game 7, and all three series were absolute wars. The Sharks, Ducks, and Blackhawks are big, physical, puck possession teams that never miss an opportunity to punish opponents. Meanwhile the Rangers have faced teams that are far less physical, granted every team ups the intensity level during the Playoffs, the fact remains that they were not locked in the same level of physical wars the Kings were.
This can be a huge advantage for New York. They need to bring the intensity level up to the maximum, finish every single check, get in the Kings face, and turn this series into yet another war for Los Angeles. If they do so, the Kings may run out of steam before they have the chance to lift Lord Stanley.
Speed: The Rangers exposed the Kings in Game 1 with speed. They had a couple breakaways that were created with their high level skating, unfortunately they didn't convert on every chance. It did however expose a weakness in the Kings game, as they are susceptible to the speed game that New York has. If the Rangers continue to use their speed to create chances they have a shot. Jonathan Quick is not having his most impressive Playoffs, so the Rangers have a chance to take down the Kings if they can expose them defensively. Players like Hagelin, Nash, Kreider and St. Louis all have high level speed, and use this speed to create chances. They need to bring this every single game, and force the Kings to take penalties in order to slow them down.
King Henrik: Obviously King Henrik is the key to victory every single night for the Rangers. He is the MVP of this team, and is the best goalie in this years Playoffs. He had an ok Game 1, though he probably would want the Doughty goal back. The good news for Rangers fans is that he has another level, and if he can bring his game to that level, it may be enough to flip this series in the Rangers favor.
Dan Girardi: Dan Girardi has not had a good Playoffs. His CF% is a very poor 43.7%, while his CF% Rel is -8.9%. He is playing top 4 minutes, and doing very poorly. He is bleeding chances against, and is uncharacteristically causing turnovers in his own end. If Girardi can improve his play it will not only solidify the top 4, it will allow McDonagh to focus less on covering up for Girardi’s mistakes, and more on continuing his incredible play. McDonagh needs Girardi to be a capable partner in order to be at the top of his game. Girardi is better than this, and he needs to pull it together for one series.
Wrap Up
The Rangers have a chance in this series; they just need to believe it themselves. They trail this series 1-0, and with Game 2 in Los Angeles tonight they need to leave it all on the ice every single game from this point forward. The odds are against them; the Kings are one of the best-coached, most resilient, deepest teams in the entire NHL. It is not going to take a miracle for the Rangers to win, but it is going to take a tremendous effort from every single player on this team, this is a war, and the Kings have already been dragged through the trenches on their way to these Finals. The series is there for the taking, the Rangers just gotta believe.
This article uses information from extraskater.com