Stanley Cup Finals Live Stream: Watch Online Streaming New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings NHL Playoffs Game

The Stanley Cup finals for the NHL playoffs are live on Wednesday night for Game 1 of the series as the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings play at the Staples Center at 8 pm ET and the game is streaming live online from NBC and ESPN with live stream coverage online from the Live Extra website and on ESPN Radio as NY makes it to the championship for the first time in two decades.

The Rangers endured a lot this season while getting a new head coach and trading their captain in Ryan Callahan and now the organization is back in the Cup finals for the first time in 20 years and it started when GM Glen Sather hired Vigneault, who has been called a calming influence on the team and in MSG.

The Kings have a great defenseman in Drew Doughty, but the Rangers have been getting plenty of production from their blue line as well, with Ryan McDonagh coming through with 10 points in the series against the Canadiens and he could be key to the entire series. Henrik Lundqvist has been excellent in the playoffs and most writers and predictions from analysts feel that he needs to win the Conn Smythe for the Rangers to have any chance at winning the series and that means he will have to outplay Jonathan Quick, who has won a Stanley Cup already in his career. The Cup is the only thing missing from the resume of Lundqvist and now he hopes to put that next to his gold medal and Vezina trophy.

The Rangers need players like Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards to step up and play like the stars they are and if they don't, it likely won't be a long series for the blue shirts. The team is deep with their fourth line playing a big part in the series against Montreal and that is one area where the Rangers have a slight edge and they need players like Brian Boyle, Dominic Moore and Mats Zuccarello to continue producing. Center is an area where the Kings dominate the Rangers with Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards having the advantage over Derek Brassard, Brad Richards and Derek Stepan. The trade for St. Louis has been a huge boost for the Rangers and the story of his mother and the series in Montreal has galvanized the team and he had a huge overtime goal in that series to get the Game 4 victory.

The Los Angeles Kings were the best defensive team in the league while allowing the fewest goals and they have had a tough road through the whole playoffs and they are mentally tough. LA came back from a 3-0 deficit against the San Jose Sharks before playing a seven game series against the Anaheim Ducks before the very tough series against the Chicago Blackhawks and now they are back in the Stanley Cup finals for the second time in three seasons. The Rangers looked left for dead at one point also after falling back 3-1 to the Penguins in the second round and the team stormed back after getting a much needed power play goal from Chris Kreider.

Check here for the NHL playoffs live coverage for the Rangers and Kings for the Stanley Cup.