Final, Kings 3-0 (L.A. leads series 3-0)
The Kings are one win away from their second Stanley Cup title in three seasons. They completely dominated Game 3 and were led by Jonathan Quick’s 32 saves in a shutout performance (the ninth of his postseason career).
Los Angeles can become the first team to sweep the Cup Final since 1998 when these teams meet again Wednesday night for Game 4.
Third Period, 15:35, 3-0 Kings: Alain Vigneault has decided to pull Henrik Lundqvist for the extra skater with four minutes remaining.
Third Period, 11:53, 3-0 Kings: Kings kill off the penalty as Jonathan Quick’s save total reaches 30.
Third Period, 9:53, 3-0 Kings: The Rangers are going back to the power play.
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Third Period, 7:58, 3-0 Kings: The Rangers created two quality scoring chances on the penalty kill but Jonathan Quick denied both of them. We’re back to even strength. Shortly after, the Kings nearly scored.
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Third Period, 5:58, 3-0 Kings: Chris Kreider is getting an interference penalty for pushing Drew Doughty into Jonathan Quick. The Kings can pretty much end this game with a power-play goal. Three of New York’s four penalties tonight have been taken in the offensive zone.
Third Period, 3:01, 3-0 Kings: The Rangers’ power play ends with zero shots on goal. Just brutal.
Third Period, 1:01, 3-0 Kings: Matt Greene is going to the penalty box for tripping Mats Zuccarello. Rangers are going on the power play.
Third Period, 0:07, 3-0 Kings: Jonathan Quick stops Chris Kreider on a partial breakaway to start the third period.
via @MyRegularFace
Third Period, 0:01, 3-0 Kings: We’re underway in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
End of Second Period, 3-0 Kings
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Second Period, 19:44, 3-0 Kings: Kings kill off the penalty.
Second Period, 17:44, 3-0 Kings: Jake Muzzin is off to the penalty box. The Rangers are going to the power play and they desperately need a goal.
Second Period, 17:14, 3-0 Kings: The Kings have taken a commanding 3-0 lead. Mike Richards tried to pass across on a 2-on-1 scoring chance and the puck bounced off of Ryan McDonagh’s stick right back to the Kings center, who beat Henrik Lundqvist.
via @MyRegularFace
Second Period, 15:51, 2-0 Kings: The Rangers have killed off the penalty.
Second Period, 13:51, 2-0 Kings: Carl Hagelin slashes Jake Muzzin and the Kings will go to the power play.
Second Period, 13:45, 2-0 Kings: Kings kill off the penalty.
Second Period, 11:45, 2-0 Kings: Rick Nash had a wide open net but he was unable to score because Drew Doughty hooked him. Doughty will go the penalty box as a result, but that was a smart penalty. Just prior to that play, Jonathan Quick made another save from the slot to deny Nash.
via @MyRegularFace
Second Period, 10:15, 2-0 Kings: Jonathan Quick makes another epic save with the right pad as he moved from left-to-right across the crease. The Rangers registered five shots on the power play, but we’re back to even strength.
Second Period, 9:51, 2-0 Kings: Jonathan Quick just made two great saves on the penalty kill to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard.
Second Period, 8:13, 2-0 Kings: The Rangers are going back to the power play.
[tweet https://twitter.com/helenenothelen/status/476173673452552192 align=”center”]
Second Period, 4:17, 2-0 Kings: The Kings have a 2-0 lead! Jake Muzzin’s shot from the point got through the traffic in front of the net and past Henrik Lundqvist. It was the second power-play goal of the series for the Kings.
via @MyRegularFace
Second Period, 3:18, 1-0 Kings: Marc Staal is off to the penalty box for high sticking Alec Martinez. The Kings will get their second power play of the game. They are 0-for-1 tonight.
Second Period, 2:59, 1-0 Kings: The Rangers have killed the penalty and we’re back to even strength.
Second Period, 0:59, 1-0 Kings:
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Second Period, 0:01, 1-0 Kings: We’re underway!
End of First Period, 1-0 Kings
Notable Stats
Shots on Goal: Kings 5-4
Hits: Kings 9-6
Faceoffs: Kings 6-4
Justin Williams is the leading scorer in the Cup Final. He picked up an assist on Jeff Carter’s first-period goal.
[tweet https://twitter.com/TH2N/status/476166312469999616 align=”center”]
First Period, 19:59, 1-0 Kings: Jeff Carter has scored with 0.7 seconds left in the first period. The Kings now have a lead in regulation for the first time this series.
via @PeteBlackburn
First Period, 18:56, 0-0: The Rangers’ power play is over, but they did create three good scoring chances.
First Period, 16:56, 0-0: Replay of Jonathan Quick making an unbelievable stick save on Mats Zuccarello:
via @CJZero
First Period, 16:56, 0-0: The Rangers are going to the power play for the first time. They are 1-for-8 with the man advantage in this series.
First Period, 14:54, 0-0: There have been almost no stoppages in the first period. Great fast-paced action. I’ll post a replay of Zuccarello’s miss when possible.
First Period, 12:22, 0-0: Mats Zuccarello had an open net at the left post with the puck bouncing in the crease and he was unable to jam it over the goal line. It was a huge missed chance for the Rangers, who are beginning to control the majority of puck possession and attacking-zone play.
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First Period, 11:01, 0-0: Both goalies are sharp tonight. With that said, most of the shots are coming from the outside or the point. These teams are making a strong effort to clog the shooting lanes and protect the slot.
Tanner Pearson just had a 2-on-1 but chose to shoot it instead of making a cross-crease pass. Henrik Lundqvist made a good blocker save on the scoring attempt.
First Period, 3:30, 0-0: The servers at MSG are down so there are no stats available at the moment. I will provide them when available.
First Period, 3:30, 0-0: Marian Gaborik is booed by Rangers fans as he steps onto the ice for his first shift. He forced Henrik Lundqvist to make a save after the Kings spent about 30 seconds in the attacking zone. At the other end, Carl Hagelin’s wraparound shot was stopped by Jonathan Quick.
Similar to the first two games, the opening period is off to a fast start. Both teams are using speed to create scoring chances.
First Period, 0:01, 0-0: We’re underway in Game 3!
8:21 p.m. ET: Starting lineups:
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[tweet https://twitter.com/AGrossRecord/status/476157237829042177 align=”center”]
8:08 p.m. ET: There are no lineup changes for either team.
7:00 p.m. ET: The Kings are 0-3 all-time in the playoffs at MSG. L.A. goaltender Jonathan Quick, who went to college a few hours north at UMass, has never played at “The World’s Most Famous Arena” in his NHL career.
Here are some other Game 3 notes:
–The referees for tonight’s game are Steve Kozari and Brad Watson. The linesmen are
Scott Driscoll and Shane Heyer.
–Beginning in 2009, home teams in the Cup Final are 25-9 (2-0 in this series)
–Of the 48 teams that have taken a 2-0 series lead in the Cup Final, 43 of them won the title (including 2012 Kings). The last team to win the Cup after trailing 2-0 was the 2011 Boston Bruins.
–Game 3 is pretty much a must win for New York because teams that go down 3-0 in the series lose 96.2 percent (25-of-26) of the time.
–It’s been 63 years since the opening three games of the Stanley Cup Final have gone to
overtime. Games 1 and 2 of the Cup Final have gone to overtime in three straight seasons.
–The Kings are the first team to hold a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final after not
leading in either of the first two games.
6:30 p.m. ET: Marian Gaborik is two goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s Kings record for the most goals in a single postseason. He has some extra motivation to score in front of his former fans at Madison Square Garden tonight.
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4:35 p.m. ET: There’s an old saying in hockey that a series never truly begins until a road team wins. The Rangers are hoping the intense Madison Square Garden atmosphere and comfortably of playing on home ice will benefit them in Game 3.
“We have to hold serve, and we know that,” New York head coach Alain Vigneault said in his pre-game media availability Monday. “But we know our game and we know the way to play. When we do that, we’re a good team. We have done that for the most part throughout this series. But even though we’re playing hard and we’re playing the right way, they’re a great hockey team. ”
“I mean, it’s been nine periods of real good hockey so far. Could have gone one way or the other. They’re up 2?0. Give them full credit. We’re going to try to make this a series tonight.”
Despite his team’s struggles to score goals in the first periods of this series, Kings head coach Darryl Sutter wasn’t angry with his team’s start in Game 2.
“We thought we had a really good first period last game,” Sutter said. “I know it’s based strictly on scoring. But we don’t look at it like that. If it was only on whoever scored the first goal or second goal was going to win every game, then lots of you guys would go home after the first period (laughter).”
10:45 a.m. ET: The Los Angeles Kings are two wins away from their second Stanley Cup title in the last three years after two dramatic overtime wins against the New York Rangers at Staples Center.
Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault won’t let the outcome of the first two games in Los Angeles bother his players because he knows firsthand that a 2-0 series lead is no sure thing. His Vancouver Canucks won both games at home to start the 2011 Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins, only to lose four of the next five games and watch the Original Six club hoist the Cup at Rogers Centre after Game 7. Just like the Bruins, the Blueshirts lost the opening two games by a combined two goals on the road.
Despite taking care of business on home ice with two victories, the Kings know they have tons of room for improvement.
“…We can play better hockey,” Kings center Anze Kopitar said after Game 2. “We’ve done it before and everybody knows that we’re going to have to do it at MSG because that building is going to be loud. I’m sure they’re going to be very desperate and they’re going to throw everything at us that they have, we’re going to have to match all of the above.”
Even though New York isn’t facing elimination, Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night is a must-win. Only one team (1942 Toronto Maple Leafs) has ever won a Stanley Cup after going down 0-3 in the series.
Check back to this live blog for up-to-the-minute score updates, instant analysis and video highlights from Game 3 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.
