Kings vs Rangers

NEW YORK -- After a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, the New York Rangers woke up Tuesday to face the reality that one other team has come back from a 3-0 series deficit in the Stanley Cup Final to win: the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.

New York's attempt to become the second began with an optional skate Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was one of the few Rangers regulars to take the ice. With a night's sleep and a leisurely skate behind him, Lundqvist faced the seemingly insurmountable mission with poise and confidence.

"It was a tough day today," he said. "It was a tough night [Monday]. You have to move on. You understand how serious the situation is and how tough it is for us to try to turn it around. Now we're only looking at [Game 4] and we'll try to win that game. Then you take it from there."

A huge part of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final will be the battle between 2012 Cup winner Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings and Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. Those two elite goalies will go a long way in determining which team will raise the Stanley Cup later this month.

Who has the upper hand? NHL.com scouted the goalies before the series and will track their performance during each game, identifying trends affecting each goaltender. NHL.com correspondent Kevin Woodley, managing editor of InGoal Magazine, will use the 360 Save Review System software from Double Blue Sports Analytics to chart the goals and shots against each goalie in each game of the Stanley Cup Final. Here are his findings from Game 3, a 3-0 victory by the Kings, which gives them a 3-0 lead in the best of-7 series.

NEW YORK -- One of the biggest themes from this stunning postseason run of the Los Angeles Kings has been how the additions of Marian Gaborik, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson have altered the forward depth and made the club more potent offensively.

Another change from 2013 to this season though has occurred gradually and been just as important. Defenseman Jake Muzzin has improved tremendously from his rookie season, and his placement with Drew Doughty on the top pairing has made the Kings a different team.

Muzzin had a key goal in Game 3 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final as the Kings defeated the New York Rangers 3-0. They lead the best-of-7 series 3-0, with Game 4 Wednesday at Madison Square Garden (8 p.m.; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

NEW YORK – After a disappointing 3-0 loss against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, it didn't take long for New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's frustration to show.

His postgame scrum started with a simple question: "What happened?" a reporter asked.

Whether it was the phrasing or the tone of the query that bothered him, Lundqvist paused angrily before requesting another question.

"A better question," he said.

NEW YORK -- Before the 2014 Stanley Cup Final began, a prevailing theory was Henrik Lundqvist would need to be a significant advantage in the battle of goaltenders with Jonathan Quick for the New York Rangers to have a chance to defeat the Los Angeles Kings.

Through two games, neither goalie was particularly sharp, but one of them had a huge Game 3. It wasn't Lundqvist, and now the Kings are one victory from the Stanley Cup.

Quick was stellar, mixing in a couple of highlight-reel saves amongst the 32 stops he made to help Los Angeles to a 3-0 victory at Madison Square Garden and 3-0 lead in the series.

"I think that was his best game of the playoffs," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. "He played fantastic for us [Monday night]. He made some big saves, saves he had no business making. His rebound control was good, his puck-handling was good, everything about his game tonight was great and he was a big reason why he won."

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick grew up in Milford, Connecticut, about an hour north of New York City, but he had never played at Madison Square Garden before he stepped on the ice Monday for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. He skated off as the game's First Star after a 3-0 victory against the New York Rangers in which he made 32 saves.

Quick's shutout was the first at the Garden in the Final since Gerry Cheevers of the Boston Bruins in 1972, when Boston won 3-0 in a Cup-clinching Game 6 victory. Quick and Cheevers are the only two opposing goaltenders ever to earn shutouts at the Garden in the Cup Final.

The Kings lead the best-of-7 series 3-0. Game 4 is Wednesday at the Garden (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

NEW YORK -- Mark Messier can't believe it has been 20 years since he led the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup championship. A lot has changed in New York since then, but with the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since his magical championship run in 1994, Messier is looking to expand on his legacy in this city.

In the meantime, other than discussing the finalists for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award presented by Bridgestone, his primary duty Monday at Madison Square Garden was to cheer on the home team during Game 3 of the Cup Final against the Los Angeles Kings (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

"I haven't been involved with the Rangers other than being a fan. My 10-year-old son is a huge Rangers fan. He'll be at the game tonight. We'll be cheering on," Messier said. "It's been a great year as a fan, easy team to cheer for. The good thing, and the lucky thing for me, is I got a chance to meet these guys over the last four years working with the Rangers. They're quality guys in that dressing room with a lot of character. It's great to see them get the opportunity they have right now because they earned it."

A huge part of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final will be the battle between 2012 Cup winner Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings and Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. Those two elite goalies will go a long way in determining which team will raise the Stanley Cup later this month.

Who has the upper hand? NHL.com scouted the goalies before the series and will track their performance during each game, identifying trends affecting each goaltender. NHL.com correspondent Kevin Woodley, managing editor of InGoal Magazine, will use the 360 Save Review System software from Double Blue Sports Analytics to chart the goals and shots against each goalie in each game of the Stanley Cup Final. Here are his findings from Game 2, a 5-4 double-overtime victory by the Kings, which gives them a 2-0 lead in the best of-7 series.

NEW YORK -- Will the magical comebacks ever end?

After becoming the first team in NHL history to play the maximum 21 games en route to to the Stanley Cup Final and, along the way, win three straight Game 7s on the road, the Los Angeles Kings continue to defy the odds in the championship round against the New York Rangers.

The Kings hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series despite the fact they haven't led in regulation in either of the opening two games at Staples Center; the winning goal was scored in overtime each game.

Los Angeles hopes to get off to a better start in Game 3 on Monday at Madison Square Garden (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

"I would have to say we're not proud of the way we started games and find ourselves in the same situation and regurgitating the mumbo-jumbo every time," Kings right wing Justin Williams said. "But we're in a results-oriented League and the results are that we're up 2-0 [in the series] and I don't care how we got here."

LOS ANGELES -- Brad Richards was standing near the door leading out of the visitor's dressing room at TD Garden. His suit was already on with his tie knotted up because he never took either off during Game 5 of last year's Eastern Conference Semifinals.

It was May 25, 2013 and the New York Rangers had just been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 loss against the Boston Bruins. Richards was a healthy scratch that night. It was the second time in as many games.

"It was the lowest point in my career," Richards said prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. "You never want to be on the outside looking in when your teammates are battling in what I consider the best part of hockey -- the playoffs."