For the Swedish fans that wanted a tense affair with their local heroes playing a big part, that wish has come true through the game's first 50 minutes.
Marian Gaborik scored to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 9:32 remaining in regulation. Gaborik scored on a goal-mouth scramble when he received a shovel pass from Brandon Dubinsky and wristed a shot that ricocheted off Jonathan Quick and into the net. Brad Richards earned his first point as a Ranger with the secondary assist on the play, a centering pass from behind the net.
Plus, the fans have watched local hero Henrik Lundqvist put on an absolute clinic -- especially in the first period, when he kept a sluggish Rangers team in a game in which it was being out-shot at a 3-to-1 margin.
The Rangers, thought have overcome the early doldrums and has taken the play to Los Angeles as often as not in the past 30 minutes.
Ryan Callahan has been the impetus for that revival. He already has 10 shots in this game.