The Los Angeles Kings, with the help of their top line – which we said in our preview to be a pivotal factor in the series – managed another come-from-behind overtime victory against the New York Rangers in Game 2. After back-to-back gut-wrenching losses, can the Rangers keep their composure and nail their first win tonight, or will the Kings break their hearts once again?
New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Finals, Game 3 Preview
Series Scores & Schedule
Game 1 – June 4, New York 2 at Los Angeles 3 (OT)
Game 2 – June 7, New York 4 at Los Angeles 5 (OT)
Game 3 – June 9, 8:00 PM ET, Los Angeles (+105) at New York (-125); total: 5.0 – view all NHL lines
Game 4 – June 11, 8:00 PM ET, Los Angeles at New York
Game 5 (if necessary) – June 13, 8:00 PM ET, New York at Los Angeles
Game 6 (if necessary) – June 16, 8:00 PM ET, Los Angeles at New York
Game 7 (if necessary) – June 18, 8:00 PM ET, New York at Los Angeles
Betting on the New York Rangers
Left to pick up the pieces after another deflating loss, the New York Rangers make a long trip back home in search of an elusive win in the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers are 3-1 in their last four home games, including a Game 7 victory in the conference finals against the Montreal Canadiens.
[sc:NHL240 ]Obviously, the Rangers must do a much better job of protecting their leads. As good as Henrik Lundqvist is playing (79-for-87, .908 SV% in the series), he still needs his teammates to play their roles to a tee, particularly the defensemen.
The Rangers’ primary blue line pair of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonough was on the ice for three key Kings goals, two in LA’s third period comeback as well as the game-winner in double-OT. Against a very resilient Los Angeles team, the Rangers’ defense must summon a better team effort.
The Rangers also need more from their top line. Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, and Rick Nash have yet to put up a goal in the series, and the pressure is mounting for them to provide some scoring punch. Nash, who scored three goals and two assists in the Montreal series, is pointless thus far in the Stanley Cup Final, although he did had a team-high eight shots on goal in Game 2.
The over is 4-1 in the Rangers’ last five home games against Los Angeles.
Betting on the Los Angeles Kings
If the Kings are feeling the fatigue caused by a gruelling Playoffs, they are doing an outstanding job of hiding it. Los Angeles will head to the East Coast for Game 3, but based on their body of work in these Playoffs, the long road trip won’t be much of a problem for them. The Kings are 7-3 in their last 10 games away from home.
Los Angeles doesn’t have any trouble scoring on the road, with 44 goals in 12 games for an astounding 3.6 GF/G. Top liners Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown scored two goals apiece in Game 2, including the final two goals of the game to complete the comeback win. LA has now scored four or more goals in four of their last five road games.
The Kings’ impressive goalscoring has made up for their slow starts during first periods, where they’ve conceded 25 goals in this postseason and four in the first two games of this series. Although Jonathan Quick has kept the Kings alive with a collection of highlight saves down the stretch, he and his teammates could make life easier for themselves by starting stronger and keeping things tight early in the opening period.
The over is 8-1-1 in the Kings’ last 10 games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Rangers score first and hold onto their lead until the final buzzer. Take the Rangers to win as -125 home faves.
