Rangers and Kings to Battle for Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup Finals are set after the Los Angeles Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks in an overtime classic by the score of 5-4, to win the Western Conference best of seven finals 4-3.
The Kings will now face the New York Rangers the winners of the Eastern Conference. Entering this series, the Kings will be the favorites as they were able to survive a much deeper playoff in the Western Conference.
 To reach the Stanley Cup finals the Kings had to beat Chicago in the conference finals, the Anaheim Ducks in the semifinals and the San Jose Sharks in the first round. Those three teams were three of the top seven in the overall standings in the NHL this past season.
Of course, the Rangers played exceptionally well to reach this point. The Rangers defeated Montreal in the conference finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins in the semifinals and the Philadelphia Flyers in round one.
Where New York will have a slight edge, is in rest. The Rangers have had three extra days of rest after clinching the Eastern Conference over the Montreal Canadians.
The Kings have had all three of their previous playoff series go to seven games with all three series very demanding physically. New York has played on less game during the postseason but has not played the rough and tough physical hockey the Kings have endured during their playoff run.
The NHL will take advantage of the marquee matchup between Los Angeles and New York the two huge markets on opposite coasts putting the NHL on center stage.
Los Angeles will battle for its second Stanley C
up in three seasons, while the Rangers have not won a Cup in 20 years, when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in 1994.
Ryan McDonagh will be a key for the Rangers in this Stanley Cup. McDonagh played well in the conference finals with 10 points on 2 goals and 8 assists.
Drew Doughty is the best defenseman in all of hockey anywhere in the world. The Los Angeles Kings defenseman was the top player during the Sochi Olympics and has played better than anyone has during the playoffs. Doughty will cause numerous problems for the Rangers forwards throughout the finals.
Martin St. Louis who the Rangers picked up just prior to the trade deadline has played through the grief of losing his mother and his teammates have been huge in helping him to this point.
The Rangers have a close dressing room and thrive on being the underdogs in every series they play and this one will be no exception.
The Kings were behind 3-0 in their first series with San Jose, 3-2 against Anaheim and 2-0 to Chicago in game seven on Sunday, but each time rallied to win and have become known as the best clutch performers in hockey.
They are strong mentally, do not back down to anyone and do not even know the word pressure.
The Rangers will be an underdog in this but do have extra rest and seem to have the hockey angels looking over them.
However, the Kings will take care of business in six games and win the Stanley Cup 4-2.
