By
Steve Kallas (posted by Rick Morris)
You
got sick of hearing it if you are a Ranger fan.
The West is much stronger than the East.
The top four teams in the West could easily beat the Rangers. The Rangers should hope that they “don’t get
embarrassed in the Cup Finals” (a nameless “expert” cause his name wasn’t given
on the radio when this prediction was revealed after the Kings were up three
games to none).
No
(unbiased) hockey fan (or “expert,” for that matter) could have watched the Cup
Finals and thought anything other than this was a close series. If you are “much better” you are simply not
going to have three games in your rink go to overtime. The fact that the Kings won all three is a
testament to their Stanley Cup-winning experience (17 members of this team were
on the 2012 Cup-winning team) and their ability, with a top goaltender, to shut
down a not-very-good-scoring team in the New York Rangers.
SO,
WAS IT A “CLOSE” SERIES?
You
bet it was. The Rangers took two-goal
leads ON THE ROAD in the first two Stanley Cup Final games. The Kings ability to bounce back in series
(down 3-0 to San Jose in round one, for example) and in games (down two goals
in Game 7 in the Western Conference final against the defending champion
Chicago team) was well-documented. It
should be no surprise (while, at the same time, a huge disappointment to Ranger
fans) that the Kings were able to come back and win both games in OT.
Game
3 was one of the strangest games (from a scoring perspective) in the history of
the Stanley Cup Finals. All three goals
by the Kings were of the weird/lucky/deflection type. The first went in off the skate of a prone
Dan Girardi; the second went in off the glove of Martin St. Louis; and the
third was a two-on-one break when Mike Richards, trying to pass the puck across
the ice to Trevor Lewis, had the puck come right back to him off the skate of
Ryan McDonagh for an easy goal.
After
the Rangers won Game 4 (in a game where they didn’t play particularly well
(other than The King) and the only game where the bounces went their way), Game
5 was a game for the ages; both goalies stood on their respective heads and it
wasn’t until Lundqvist gave up a rebound (that he couldn’t help because the
initial shot was also deflected by a Ranger (John Moore) and caused Lundqvist
to make another great save at the cost of giving up a rebound) in the second OT
that the Kings could claim their Cup.
WHAT
ABOUT THOSE TWO CALLS (OR NON-CALLS OR WRONG CALLS)?
While
it’s almost pointless to complain about the referees, there were two incredible
plays that really compromised the Rangers chances of extending (not winning;
let’s be fair, Ranger fans) the Finals.
The
first occurred in Game 2 when, with the Rangers up 4-2 in the third period,
Dwight King drove the net on Lundqvist and clearly interfered with him while
deflecting in the third goal for the Kings.
Apparently the ref thought the interference took place after the puck
was past Lundqvist, an absurdity which was proven wrong on replay.
Except
this play, according to NHL rules, is not
reviewable (and, while you would think that, after an obvious bad call in a Cup
Final, the NHL would put this on plays to be reviewable next
season, the NHL, in its infinite wisdom, has already decided
that this play will probably not be reviewable next year. So, you can expect the same absurdity to
happen again in a big game.).
Hopefully,
someone with a brain and some power at the NHL will re-think this
position and, when a goal is scored (and, thus, play is stopped) on this type
of play, there will be allowed a review of possible interference in front of
the net.
The
second play was a call that went the wrong way for the Rangers. Up a goal in the third period of Game 5, the
puck was swung around the boards but deflected in the air towards the blue
line. Jake Muzzin, trying to keep the
puck in the offensive zone, clearly tripped Mats Zuccarello, who was attacking
the point, possibly hoping to get a breakaway if the airborne puck slipped by
Muzzin.
Inexplicably,
the ref, not having a feel for the fact that Muzzin was trying to stop a
potential breakaway by the Rangers while also trying to stop the puck, called a
trip on Zuccarello (rather than on Muzzin).
On the ensuing power play, the Kings cut the lead to 4-3. Then Ranger-killer (and former Ranger) Marian
Gaborik tied the game later in the period.
How
are we sure that this was a terrible call?
Well, not because former Ranger Eddie Olczyk said it on the NBC telecast
right when it happened. And not because
Keith Jones said so between periods. We
know it was a terrible call because former Bruin player (and Islander exec)
Mike Milbury said so during the intermission.
If
Mike Milbury said that the Rangers got the shaft, well, then, the Rangers got
the shaft.
Again,
neither of these plays would have given the Rangers a win. But both would have given them a (much?)
better chance to win.
And
maybe made the series even closer.
WHAT
ABOUT LUNDQVIST VERSUS JONATHAN QUICK?
An
excellent match-up of, at least arguably, the two best goaltenders in
hockey. While many pointed out, before
the series, that Quick was already a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender, many of them
failed to point out that he was the
Conn Smythe winner as well in 2012 (for MVP of
the entire playoffs). This certainly
seemed to give him an edge over the first-time-in-the-Finals Ranger goaltender.
Although
Lundqvist played great for much of the series, you obviously have to give the
edge to Quick. He shut out the Rangers
(in overtime) in two double OT games and a third game in single OT. He also shut out the Rangers (at the Garden)
in the Kings one victory that did not go to overtime e. In addition, in an amazing stat, Quick did
not allow a goal in any third period in the five-game Finals.
Even
for a poor scoring team like the Rangers, that’s an amazing stat.
But
that doesn’t take away from what Lundqvist did in this series. He was unbelievable for much of it and,
unlike Quick, seemed to be at the wrong end of a shooting gallery much of the
time (for you old-time Ranger fans, it was much like Gump Worsley – at the end
of his Ranger career, not as a Canadien – who was at the wrong end of a shooting
gallery for many games late in his Ranger career).
For
example, the Rangers were outshot 20-3 in the third period of Game 1 and 15-1
in the third period of their only win.
In the Cup-clinching Game 5, the Kings outshot the Rangers by an
astounding 51-30.
WHAT
ABOUT THE COMPARISONS OF LUNDQVIST TO PATRICK EWING?
Well,
unfair to both players. Patrick Ewing, a
superstar his entire Knick career, was killed for not winning a title in the
Michael Jordan era. But he never played
with a real top player (who was healthy; Bernard King doesn’t count) and
couldn’t do it by himself.
Lundqvist
still has time to get a Cup, but it’s going to be very difficult. The Rangers of 2014 didn’t have a Mark
Messier or a Brian Leetch. They need
scoring; they need a top center; they need some more size to play teams like
the Kings and the Bruins. While Brad
Richards and Rick Nash were disappointments, hockey isn’t basketball where you
can stuff a stat sheet just by being on the court and around the basket.
Hockey
is a zero sum sport; you either score goals or you don’t.
While
the Rangers have a great goaltender and a very good defensive core, it’s going
to be up to the front office and coaching staff to get more scoring, etc. on
this team. Lundqvist often reminds you
of the pitcher who knows his team won’t score very much – he feels additional
pressure to not give up a goal/run. That
puts added pressure on a goaltender or a pitcher.
Patrick
Ewing was a superstar. Henrik Lundqvist
is a superstar. But, for better or worse
(it says here for worse), if you don’t win a championship in today’s sports
world, that will be held against you by many uninformed fans forever (because,
after all, these are team games).
CONCLUSION
Were
the Kings better than the Rangers? Yes. Were they bigger and stronger? You
betcha. Did they outplay the Rangers?
Absolutely. But any “expert” who thinks
that this wasn’t a close series simply doesn’t understand the game of hockey.
Congratulations
to the Kings, but here’s hoping the Rangers, with a little more scoring and a
few other things, can get back to the Finals next year and win another Stanley
Cup.
@
COPYRIGHT 2014 BY STEVE KALLAS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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