The Stanley Cup will be inside Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. If the Los Angeles Kings can defeat the New York Rangers, they will win their second Cup in three seasons.
Wednesday, June 11
NHL Odds: Los Angeles +115, New York -125
Why The Kings Can Win
Their goaltender finally returned to being one of the best in the world on Monday night in Game 3. Jonathan Quick played his best game of the whole playoffs against the Rangers in New York, shutting out the Blueshirts and giving them their first shutout loss in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1972. Quick was all over the net. He got lucky a few times, but even when he did get lucky, such as a pair of times in which the Rangers hit a post, Quick was able to get his stick into the goal mouth to ensure that the puck did not go into the goal after hitting the post. Quick’s reactions were decisive, and as a result, he didn’t get tagged for the four goals he gave up in Game 2 on Saturday. Quick was one of the few Kings who had not played at a very high level in the previous two games of this series, or in the Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks. Now that he’s along for the ride as well, the Kings should have all the pieces in place to finish this series in the Big Apple. Los Angeles might not have had a regulation time lead in either one of the first two games, but they caught the Rangers both times with strong third periods and overtimes. They earned their wins and didn’t win because of flukes. The Kings then showed how much better they were in Game 3 on Monday. Of course they should finish the series here.
Why The Rangers Can Win
Their level of play really hasn’t been all that bad through three games. The Rangers aren’t getting the level of puck luck the Kings are enjoying, but New York played strong first and third periods in Game 3. The Rangers outshot the Kings by a significant margin. The Kings’ power play was a lot better than the Rangers’ power play in Game 3, but when New York stayed out of the sin bin, it did well against Los Angeles. The Rangers just have to be able to avoid committing penalties. Their own power play is weak, but as long as they avoid taking penalties themselves, they should feel that they have the skill and the physicality with which they can stand up to the Kings. The first two games of the series went to overtime in Los Angeles. Naturally, the Rangers can grab a win in New York and make this series interesting. If Henrik Lundqvist can play one game the way Jonathan Quick played Game 3, the Rangers should be able to win.
Outlook
This is a series in which the Kings look to have broken the Rangers’ will. Winning two overtime games and then scoring a goal with 0.8 seconds left in the first period of Game 3 have frustrated the Rangers to no end. Los Angeles will probably hoist the Cup on Wednesday.
Pick: Los Angeles +115
