New
York Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman (6) reaches to save the puck from
crossing the goal line as Los Angeles Kings center Jeff Carter (77) tries to
score from behind New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) in the first
period during Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final, Wednesday, June 11,
2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Bruce Bennett, Pool)
NEW
YORK — The Kings were inches from hoisting the Stanley Cup if not for a couple
of sitting pucks.
Twice,
they had a puck sitting on the Rangers’ goal line. And as agonizing as it was
for the Kings, no push or shove or stick poke or lucky bounce could get it to
trickle in any further.
Once in
the first period it happened — which would’ve tied the game. And the final time
a loose puck was on the goal line was with 71 seconds left in Game 4 of the
Stanley Cup Final. They just stayed there and didn’t move.
Goaltender
Henrik Lundqvist was fantastic as he made 40 saves and led the Rangers to a 2-1
heart-stopping victory that saved New York from elimination at Madison Square
Garden. The Kings didn’t sweep but still lead the series 3-1 and with a win in
Game 5 Friday, they can celebrate with their fans at Staples Center like they
did when they won the organization’s first Cup in 2012.
“It
sucks,” defenseman Drew Doughty said of the loose pucks. “We should have put
those in the net. They were laying right there for us. We just have to get
hungrier around there. To get pucks past this goalie, and this time, you have
to be hungrier than that and more determined.”
It was
a wild ending in which the Kings outshot the Rangers 15-1 in the final period.
The
Kings had countless chances — Tanner Pearson had eight shots — but they weren’t
able to come up with a critical goal to tie the game and force overtime.
They’ve done it so many times before, but not Wednesday.
That
last loose puck was so close.
“I tipped
it and didn’t think it went through, so I kept going,” Pearson said. “I got
hit, so I couldn’t do anything. It just sat there. Bottom line, it just sat
there.”
It
wasn’t just those pucks on the goal line, either. Lundqvist turned back
everything.
“We had
a lot of good opportunities,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. “But you’ve got
to finish.”
Asked
if he’d been part of a game like this before with pucks stopping on the line
twice, Sutter said, with a smile: “Yeah, probably I recall several times it
did. It did (Wednesday).”
The
Kings can’t make like the Rangers and continuously complain about missed calls
or not getting lucky bounces. As painstaking as it will be to watch replays of
those pucks just sitting there for the taking, the Kings must forget those and
concentrate on making new opportunities. Or they’ll risk coming back here for
Game 6.
They
were so close to winning.
Derek
Stepan used his glove to knock the puck forward and under Lundqvist for the
game-saver.
“I knew
it wasn’t in because the light didn’t go on,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault
said. “I didn’t know exactly where it was. I was able to see the replay after.
Thank God for soft ice now and then.”
The
Kings won’t have a Madison Square Garden hex in Staples Center. They can close
out the series and win the Stanley Cup by playing just as they did to win Games
1 and 2 in overtime and double overtime, respectively, at home and like that
Game 3 shutout win here.
What
they can’t do is dwell over those sitting pucks.
“It’s
not frustrating,” said captain Dustin Brown, who had the Kings’ lone goal on a
breakaway in the second period. “We need to do that more. We grind away.”
No use
fretting over those immovable pucks.
Even
though they were just sitting there, ready for a Cup hoisting
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