Kings vs Rangers

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- When Henrik Lundqvist has one of his rare off nights or gives up the occasional bad goal, the New York Rangers always say their world-class goalie is the least of their concerns and worrying about a bounce-back effort from him is wasted energy.

That narrative switched to New York defenseman Dan Girardi on Thursday, when center Derek Stepan, left wing Carl Hagelin and defenseman Ryan McDonagh sat in front of the media at the Rangers' beachfront hotel.

Girardi's defensive-zone turnover directly led to Justin Williams' game-winning goal Wednesday that gave the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center.

Game 2 is Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- The message to the New York Rangers from coach Alain Vigneault after Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final was as clear as the Southern California sky Thursday.

"We're not going to beat [the Los Angeles Kings] if we do not all bring our 'A' game," Vigneault said. "It is that strong of an opponent that we're playing against.

"Our 'B' game won't do it. They're one of the best teams I've seen in a long time. Areas to exploit, they don't jump out at you. We're going to have to be better than we were."

The Rangers went toe-to-toe with the Kings for 40 minutes Wednesday at Staples Center. They played fast and took a 2-0 lead barely 15 minutes into the game. They had the Kings on their heels. But they couldn't keep it that way.

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 1.

The New York Rangers are in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, four wins against the Los Angeles Kings short of claiming their first championship since 1994, a moment which remains one of the proudest moments in the history of the Original Six franchise.

While waiting to see what the future holds for the Rangers, here is a look back at the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, a seven-game victory against the Vancouver Canucks, as detailed in "The Wait is Over: The New York Rangers and the 1994 Stanley Cup," by NHL.com editor John Kreiser. This excerpt, the final section of Chapter 11: Scaling Mount Vancouver, deals with Game 7 of the Final.

June 14, 1994, dawned sunny and warm, a perfect "summer starts next week" kind of day. It was a day the Rangers and New York hockey fans knew they would never forget; the question was how they would remember it.

"I remember Game 7 -- you can't sleep,” goaltender Glenn Healy says. "You leave the house that day, and I remember I said to my wife, 'This is either going to be one of the best days of our lives or one of the worst.' We don't know. We'll see in 12 hours. You're watching TV and they've got the New York Stock Exchange on, and the brokers on the exchange floor are chanting, 'Let's go Rangers.'"

LOS ANGELES -- New York Rangers right wing Martin St. Louis refused to admit what appeared obvious to others Wednesday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

"I don't feel we gave it away," St. Louis said.

If that's the case, the narrative should be that the Los Angeles Kings came back and took away what, for a short while anyway, was looking like a sure thing for New York.

The Rangers had built a two-goal lead with 4:57 remaining in the first period, but the Kings rallied to tie it before seven minutes elapsed in the second period. Justin Williams scored the winner 4:35 into overtime to lift Los Angeles to 3-2 victory at Staples Center and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

"I wouldn't say, 'Gave one away,'" said Rangers forward Carl Hagelin, obviously sticking with the narrative. "I think when you're up 2-0 … their first goal gave them momentum. I think it would have been a different game if they didn't get that goal. But again, we can't get too down on ourselves. We showed all year that we're a close-knit group. We always come back strong."

Maybe the Rangers will come back strong, but they'll have two days to digest what could have been, and maybe should have been, Wednesday.

Game 2 isn't until Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

LOS ANGELES -- The New York Rangers did not get schooled in the faceoff circle. They did not get dominated at even strength, at least for the first two periods.

They did not get shackled by the Los Angeles Kings' pressure-packed approach to playing without the puck and they were able to create odd-man rushes and breakaways and great scoring chances.

They also did not win Game 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. The Kings shrugged off a sluggish start before asserting control and winning 3-2 in overtime Wednesday.

"It was not a good hockey game for us," Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell said. "We kind of got away with one. [Goaltender Jonathan Quick] was outstanding to let us find a little bit of legs. We still didn't have great legs out there. I think maybe the trainers put gumboots in our stalls instead of skates [Wednesday]. Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason behind us. We just battled and relied on our goaltender way too much. We need to be better than that next game."

LOS ANGELES -- Drew Doughty was incensed midway through Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Kings defenseman was butt-ended by New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider against the half wall late in the second period and Doughty was outraged that a penalty wasn't called. It didn't help that teammate Mike Richards was penalized for slashing Rangers center Derick Brassard a moment later to give the Rangers a power play.

Doughty was seen on the bench shouting at the referee and pointing to the end of his stick.

"Yeah, I didn't really control my emotions too well at that point," Doughty said. "It's just part of the game. Stuff happens by accident. It was just heat of the moment. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, stuff like that is going to go down."

Doughty was very much like rest of the Kings in what ended as a 3-2 overtime win at Staples Center: He started slow and made a big miscue but got stronger as the game progressed and turned in another stunning goal that shows why many think he is the best defenseman in the NHL.

For additional insight into the Stanley Cup Final between the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings, NHL.com has enlisted the help of former NHL coach Perry Pearn to break down the action. Pearn will be checking in throughout the series.

Pearn has spent the past 18 seasons as an assistant coach in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and a second tenure with the Jets in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Kings have survived three grueling series against three of the best teams in the NHL just to reach the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.

To win the Stanley Cup for a second time in three seasons, the Kings will have to defeat the New York Rangers, who like Los Angeles, are playing better now than they were in the first half of the regular season.

Like the Kings with Marian Gaborik, the Rangers have added a star player to their mix in Martin St. Louis. How do these two teams match up, and where are the pressure points in the series?

LOS ANGELES -- After the Los Angeles Kings lost Game 6 of the Western Conference Final to the Chicago Blackhawks, Kings coach Darryl Sutter was asked what he said to his team.

"Fly at 11 [a.m.]," Sutter deadpanned.

With a 4-3 loss, Los Angeles was headed back to Chicago for Game 7 after the Blackhawks rallied from a 3-1 series deficit.

It might have been hyperbole, but it also wouldn't be surprising if that's all Sutter really said.

The puck drops on the 2014 Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, June 4 (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS). Before the best-of-7 series begins, members of NHL.com and NHL Network made predictions for the Stanley Cup champion, the number of games the series will take and who will be named Conn Smythe winner as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.