The NHL Playoffs TV schedule for the Stanley Cup finals picks up with TV coverage from the NBC Sports Network and a live stream at 8 pm ET from the NBCSN Live Extra on Friday for Game 5 at the Staples Center after the Rangers won the game for a 3-1 series against the Kings to stave off elimination and now they are alive and the Kings can win Game 6 for the Cup.
The game was on Wednesday night with the NY Rangers and LA Kings at MSG in NYC and it comes with the series 3-0 in favor of Los Angeles and that makes this matchup at Madison Square Garden a must win for New York if they want to stay alive and this is their last chance.
The Rangers come into the game after losing both matchups in LA in overtime and and now they have lost at home and are down 3-0 and this is just terrible . Now that will make it very hard for the team to comeback even with the games at the Garden. New York has shown they are a gritty and resilient team, but that may not be enough against a team like the Kings. The Rangers took 2-0 leads in both games and could not hold them and the team has leads later in the games that they could not hold, including in Game 2 and that was very tough after the team was able to score four goals. Now granted, it's much easier to come back from deficits when the referees clearly are trying to let your team win and gives goals that should have been disallowed, but that's hockey.
The Rangers played very well, but they couldn't predict that the officials would decide the game and now they have to play even better than their best, because clearly third forces are also coming down on the team. The Rangers have led for the entire series apart from the overtime winning goals and that says it all when it comes to these first two games. The Rangers played better and while they had a couple mental lapses, the team proved they can hang with the Kings. Everyone has commended the Kings ability to come back and continue being resilient, but it's much easier doing that when the officials continue to miss major calls and give away goals that should not have counted.
The Kings should be praised for what they have done to the Rangers, but people have totally ignored that the team got a goal they should not have and now they are up 2-0 and if they go up 3-0, the officials and the NHL should be embarrassed. Two huge missed calls in the last game led to the two most important goals of the matchup and this now cheapens the entire series and the fact that LA is up 2-0. The Rangers have shown they also can be a resilient team and they will not give up despite being down 2-0 in the series. The team came back from 3-1 down against the Penguins and no one gave them a chance to do that and now they will have to try and comeback against the Kings.
The Stanley Cup finals has been decided 32 of the past 35 times when the team has won the first two home games, but in the past five years two teams have come back and that gives Rangers fans some hope coming into the matchup. The Garden ticket prices have set records for how high they are since no finals game has been there in 20 years and this is the chance for fans to see history in the flesh.
Check here for the NHL playoffs TV schedule and live coverage from the Stanley Cup finals for the postseason matchup.