King For A Day: Excited Kings mob overtime hero Justin Williams, who scored to beat the Rangers in Game 1 3-2.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Justin Williams scored at 4:36 of overtime to send the Kings to a 3-2 comeback win over the Rangers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center. His goal came off a Dan Girardi turnover. Attempting to clear the puck, Girardi fell down and sent an errant pass right to Mike Richards, who sent Williams in on Henrik Lundqvist. He rifled a perfect shot short side to give the Kings a 1-0 series lead.

It was a wasted opportunity for the Rangers, who blew a two-goal lead. Using their speed early, they were able to surprise the Kings. Able to generate quality chances off an aggressive forecheck, they forced their opponent into sloppy turnovers. Ill prepared for the Rangers’ speed, Los Angeles struggled defensively. In fact, stud defenseman Drew Doughty was victimized on the Rangers’ first goal. A turnover at the Ranger blueline allowed Benoit Pouliot to get a clean breakaway. Partner Jake Muzzin fell down and Pouliot was able to beat Jonathan Quick with a laser stick side at 13:21. It was his first point in eight games.

Shortly after, Mats Zuccarello was nabbed for a hold on Tanner Pearson giving the Kings a power play. Instead of capitalizing, they allowed a shorthanded goal to Carl Hagelin. One of the big reasons they’re here is the penalty kill. The Rangers came in second overall. Facing the fourth ranked power play, they took away everything. The Kings went 0-for-4 and were out of sync. That was the case on the first one. Strong play from Brian Boyle and Hagelin resulted in a pair of chances. Boyle narrowly missed on a Hagelin set up. On the same shift, he sent Hagelin in. Flying, he sent a backhand on a sliding Quick which he got a piece of. But the puck banked in off defenseman Slava Voynov giving the Rangers a 2-0 lead with 4:57 left. Their two goals came within a 1:42 span.

Still on the penalty kill, they nearly struck again. That’s how badly the Kings looked. However, they were able to turn the tide. Following the conclusion of the power play, they began to forecheck the Rangers. Using their size advantage, they forced Henrik Lundqvist to make some tough saves. That would be a recurring theme. Eventually, they were able to get on the board. Taking full advantage of an unforced Derek Stepan turnover, Jeff Carter outmuscled Anton Stralman and fed Kyle Clifford for his first of the postseason cutting the deficit to 2-1 with 2:27 remaining. Clifford was able to get position on Marc Staal and sent a high shot past Lundqvist. On the shift, LA coach Darryl Sutter double shifted Carter and it paid off.

Clifford’s goal was a huge turning point. The Kings easily could’ve been down by three. Moments earlier, Martin St. Louis blew a golden opportunity. On an odd-man rush, he opted to pass instead of shoot. A big reason the Rangers lost was due to their penchant for overpassing. They passed up several chances. It proved costly. They were able to escape the first still ahead 2-1. The Kings clearly woke up and were coming on.

The second period started similarly. Again, the Rangers were able to use their speed and generate chances. In fact, Rick Nash got a step on Muzzin forcing him to take an interference minor. On their second power play, they had every chance to restore a two-goal lead. The Kings all but begged them to score. But for some inexplicable reason, the Rangers opted to pass up shots and make it easy on Los Angeles.

Equally as mystifying was Alain Vigneault’s decision not to use Nash on the power play. He drew the penalty but never got a shift. He’s their best shooter. Why wouldn’t you stick him on? He only received 13 seconds on three power plays! That’s insane. Nash took 26 shifts and received 15:37 of ice-time. Over 13 minutes came at even strength where he and Stepan struggled. They were way too tentative. Vigneault gave Nash over two minutes shorthanded yet refused to use him on the man-advantage. That’s a 5-on-4. He didn’t make any in game adjustments and was outcoached by Sutter, who mixed up his lines.

The Rangers got burned by Doughty, who scored one of the great goals in Stanley Cup history. Clifford forced a turnover and fed Williams at the Ranger blueline. Wisely drawing players to him, he waited before dishing for a wide open Doughty, who toe dragged Derek Dorsett and walked in and beat Lundqvist. That tied the game at 6:35. It was a thing of beauty. Just an outstanding play by a great player. Again, Staal and Stralman were out for a goal against. At least Stralman took someone. Where was Staal? He really needs to elevate his game. He hasn’t looked right since the Pittsburgh series.

Nine seconds after Doughty’s goal, Derick Brassard took a bad penalty boarding Dustin Brown from behind. He was lucky it wasn’t a double minor. Brown was banged up and went to the locker room but eventually returned. Again, the Rangers penalty kill came through. They really did a great job limiting the Kings, who were gun shy probably due to Hagelin’s shorthanded goal. Stepan and Nash also did a good job along with Ryan McDonagh, who was easily their best defenseman taking 37 shifts (31:12 TOI).

On one shift, Chris Kreider could’ve been called for high sticking Doughty. On a forecheck, he went for a takeout and caught Doughty with the end of his stick. A furious Doughty protested insisting it was a butt end. Whether intentional or not, it was missed. Moments later, Brassard drew a high sticking minor on Richards, who clipped him with 1:19 left. Honestly, Brassard embellished it emulating Tomas Plekanec. It should’ve been 4-on-4. Fittingly, the Rangers were unable to take advantage. Stepan passed up a wide open shot instead opting to pass for Mats Zuccarello, who flubbed a one-timer with Quick down. Very frustrating.

For two periods, the Rangers proved they can play with the Kings. They outshot them 22-21. The third was a different story. It was dominated by LA. Remarkably, they got the first 14 shots. Nothing went in due to Lundqvist, who was a brick wall stopping all 20 in a lopsided period. In a period his team was outshot 20-3, he stood on his head. Simply put, the Rangers stopped skating. They played scared and backed off. At one point, NBC’s Pierre McGuire reported that Vigneault all but begged them to ramp it up. I would’ve called a timeout. But he never uses them.

Coincidentally, two of the Rangers’ three shots easily could’ve resulted in a goal if not for Quick. The former Conn Smythe winner didn’t see much action but made a pair of huge saves including highway robbery on Hagelin with a minute to go. Brian Boyle was in the box for slashing. It didn’t stop the speedy Hagelin from getting another breakaway and nearly duplicating what he did in the first. A sliding Quick just got enough of it to keep it out. On the same sequence, the Kings almost scored on Lundqvist, who refused to let his team lose in regulation. For a first game of a Stanley Cup, this was scintillating. Hopefully, the rest of the series is just as exciting.

The game went to overtime. The Rangers killed the remaining 24 seconds on Boyle’s penalty. They only had five shots over the last 24 minutes. They were outshot 22-5. You could tell early that it would end quickly. Both teams went for it. That’s the kind of game it was. At least the Rangers mustered two shots on Quick, who finished with 25 saves. He faced 27 and saw only 14 after the first but demonstrated why he’s an elite goalie.

Williams’ winner came off a Girardi turnover. Forced by a relentless Kings’ forecheck, he tried to pass for Pouliot but fell awkwardly. From his knees, he tried a suicide pass that was easily intercepted by Richards, who fed Williams for the winner. On all three goals, Lundqvist had no chance. They all came within 20 feet with poor coverage. He finished with 40 saves. It wasn’t enough.

The Rangers have to put this one behind them. There’s nothing they can do. They blew a two-goal lead letting the Kings off the hook. They’ve been a resilient team throughout proving it by coming back in all three rounds including from two down against Chicago. They’re an imposing team. Their size definitely got to the Rangers, who looked worn out and committed way too many mistakes. Many players admitted that the turnovers played into LA’s attack. They’ll have to clean it up. Along with sticking to the strategy that got them here, they have to take more shots and get traffic on Quick, who gave up rebounds. We’ll see what they’re made of on Saturday.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Drew Doughty, LAK (goal-5th of postseason, 2 blocked shots, -1 in 34 shifts-26:59-a remarkable player)

2nd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (40 saves incl. 20/20 in 3rd-heroic effort in defeat)

1st Star-Justin Williams, LAK (scored at 4:36 of OT-8th of postseason, assist, +2 in 22 shifts-15:41-big game player strikes again)