After Justin Williams ended Game 1 in overtime on Wednesday night, Kings fans started thinking about a parade in Los Angeles.
Their team had just won three straight Game 7’s and now holds a 1-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Well, are they forgetting about what New York has accomplished in the playoffs?
The Rangers beat the Flyers in Game 7 at home, knocked out the Penguins in seven games, in Pittsburgh mind you, and took care of the Canadians at home in six.
Unfortunately for Alain Vigneault and company, they couldn’t hold onto their 2-0 lead in the first period of Game 1 and failed to make Jonathan Quick own the net. He saved 25/27 shots, compared to Henrik Lundqvist, who faced 43 shots and only made 40 saves, including Williams’s game-winner.
In order for the Rangers to steal Game 2 on the road, they need to skate through the Kings tough and physical neutral zone defense. It’s not going to be easy, either. Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty, and Alec Martinez combined to block seven shots in Game 1. To say the least, Los Angeles has themselves a crew of shot blockers in front of Quick.
So, who needs to step up for New York? According to Steve Levy, an anchor of SportsCenter, he believes it’s up to Chris Kreider.
“He’s got unbelievable size, unbelievable strength, and he has the Rangers’ single?biggest, maybe only advantage in the series — he’s super fast,” Levy said.
Sadly, Kreider didn’t hear Levy call his name before Wednesday’s tilt.
He tallied a -1 on the ice, including only one shot on goal. If the Rangers want to stick around in Game 2, Kreider will have to break down the Kings defense and put Quick on his heels.
Along with Kreider, another left winger for New York, Rick Nash, was a no-show. He was also a -1 in Game 1 with three shots on goal.
Barry Melrose, a hockey analyst for ESPN, thinks after a rough postseason so far, Nash needs to make his mark in the Stanley Cup Final.
“The Rangers, one guy isn’t underrated, but he hasn’t played well yet, and that’s Rick Nash,” Melrose said. “So I really think if the New York Rangers are going to go anywhere — obviously Lundqvist is a story, he’s got to be great — but one of the forwards that must start putting the puck in the net offensively is Rick Nash.”
Maybe it’s time for Vigneault to give Kreider and Nash the Herb Brooks speech from Miracle.
It’s time for them to respond like Rob McClanahan would, too, and say, “I AM A HOCKEY PLAYER! YOU WANT ME TO PLAY ON ONE LEG? HUH? I’LL PLAY ON ONE LEG!”
Okay, maybe that’s too much. Still, if Kreider and Nash start playing like the players that they can be, the Rangers can, and will, steal Game 2 on the road in Los Angeles.