The Stanley Cup finals are live on Wednesday and the matchup between the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings for Game 5 could end the championship and it starts live on TV and radio from NBC and ESPN at 8 pm ET and is streaming online from the NBC Sports Live Extra website at Staples Center with LA up 3-1 on NY and they are trying to get the series to 3-2 just for a chance to stay alive.
The Rangers came into the series after making a comeback on the Penguins and now they need to do it again and while they have long odds, last time we checked an NHL team needs to win four games to get the Cup. The Kings have suffered three game losing streaks this playoffs and while it would be very rare to happen now, the Rangers have not lost hope, as they played well enough in Game 3 to generate a goal, but they simply could not get one past Jonathan Quick and he was too good and bested Henrik Lundqvist and now the team is a game away from the series.
The Rangers started the playoffs with a tough seven game series against the Flyers and that saw the team lose Game 6 and Hank was pulled in that game and they were able to rebound. He won game 7 there and then later in the Penguins series and the Rangers came back from a 3-1 deficit and looked strong heading into Montreal. The team beat up the Canadiens in the first two games and that ended up going six games and the King had a shutout in Game 6 and that put the Rangers into the Cup, but all those good feelings are gone now that the series is 3-0 and if the team can't win one game, many will not look back on this as fondly as they thought they would have. The team has not been to the Cup in 20 years, but this has been terrible so far.
The Rangers played well enough to win one of the games in LA, but they couldn't get it done and that changed the entire feel of the series and now they need players to step up. Martin St. Louis has been solid, but Rick Nash and Brad Richards have not been good enough and they needed to play better and that is a reason why the team is down. Martin St. Louis is leading in goals, but Ryan McDonagh has been the most consistent player for the team, leading in scoring and assists and that says it all right there.
The Kings have been so much more productive, with their leading scorer having twice as many goals and their top points guy going for 10 more than Ryan McDonagh. The Kings have been able to score at will and they have not given up at any point in the playoffs even when they were down 3-0 and Marian Gaborik has been a revelation with 13 goals on the postseason and that leads all players. Anze Kopitar has continued his strong play in the finals even without as much production and he is the leader for the Kings in points and assists.
Check here for the Stanley Cup finals coverage for the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings.