SCF: (5) New York Rangers vs (6) Los Angeles Kings

[Dedalus]

1994 is water under the bridge, but more importantly, LA winning would be horrible because it is least recognised as a 'hockey town' between the two.

Sorry, still can't get over when the $outhern team$ do so well.

[iinatcc]

Sorry, still can't get over when the $outhern team$ do so well.

Well if it makes you feel better I don't think LA is a Southern Team or categorized as one. I don't recall people calling LA the "south".

[NightHawkSniper]

1994 is water under the bridge, but more importantly, LA winning would be horrible because it is least recognised as a 'hockey town' between the two.

Sorry, still can't get over when the $outhern team$ do so well.

That's the ring Trevor Linden should've had, go Kings!

[tocnhockey]

1994 is water under the bridge, but more importantly, LA winning would be horrible because it is least recognised as a 'hockey town' between the two.

Sorry, still can't get over when the $outhern team$ do so well.

for you may be, but there's many fans who would strongly disagree

that magical run to the SCF will never be repeated....

[PhillipBlunt]

Maybe I'm missing something here but I'm not understanding all the Ranger love on this board.

For those of us who remember '94, who wants to see that again? And on the 20th anniversary of when the best team(and officials) money could buy beat our Canucks. No thanks.

I might be mistaken but I believe our friend Mark Messier has some token front office job with the Rangers. Who wants to see his name on the cup for a 7th time? Not me.

AV deserves a cup because the Canucks fired him? It's true, AV seems like a nice guy and he's a good coach, but he had the best chance at a cup anybody could hope for a few years ago and he blew it. It's not all his fault but he was the coach and he couldn't make the correct decisions which would've allowed the Canucks to squeeze out that 4th win.

That guy had high scoring, good defense, ace goaltending (at times), division title and Presidents Trophy winning teams, and all he could manage was one failed cup run sandwiched between 1st and 2nd round knockouts. Now he's in his first year in New York with another shot at the cup and Canuck fans are cheering for him? Obviously I'm not. If he wins with the Rags my question is why couldn't he do it here first? His team only managed 93 points in the weak metro division.

Martin St. Louis deserves a cup? Martin St. Louis already has a cup. Dont get me wrong, I feel sorry for the guy because of his mom's passing and all but what does that have to do with hockey?

St. Louis had a hissy fit when Yzerman left him off the olympic team, Yzerman then puts him on the olympic team and he wins the gold medal, he then pisses and moans his way out of Tampa because his GM Yzerman hurt his feelings or whatever, and now he deserves another cup? I dont know about that.

I do think Lundqvist deserves a cup, his whole career has been great with a team that's mostly been average. I hope he gets traded somewhere else and wins a cup before his career is over.

I second these emotions!

[thedestroyerofworlds]

1994 is water under the bridge, but more importantly, LA winning would be horrible because it is least recognised as a 'hockey town' between the two.

Sorry, still can't get over when the $outhern team$ do so well.

Are you like in Game of Thrones? Anyplace south of the border is southern.

[Tearloch7]

Pacific Division in 5 or 6 .. I do not want the Rangers to win mostly because these Boards would be so filled with 'AV adoration' that most grown men with integrity will puke at the very sight of it all.

'Kreider' the King and 'Stepan' Stepan in Game One .. just follow the Rangers model against the Habs .. Nolan in for Game One? ..

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Kings are 10/17 favorites to beat Rangers (3/2):

The Los Angeles Kings are 10/17 favorites to beat the New York Rangers (3/2) in the Stanley Cup Final, according to online bookmaker Bovada.

That’s a fairly substantial difference in odds, but certainly not unexpected. The Rangers entered the playoffs at 20/1 to win the Cup; only four teams had higher odds than that, while the Kings were at 10/1.

The Kings also have home-ice advantage in the series, thanks to the 100 points they earned during the regular season, compared to the Rangers’ 96. The three teams Los Angeles has already beaten this postseason — San Jose, Anaheim, and Chicago — all finished with at least 107 points.

Is there value in the underdog Rangers? Possibly. Their goalie, Henrik Lundqvist (.928 save percentage), has been significantly better than Jonathan Quick (.906) in these playoffs, and they’ve had since Thursday to rest up for the final, while the Kings took until Sunday to eliminate the Blackhawks.

There’s also this, from the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle:

…the Rangers are a far more dangerous team than their record shows. After pulling out of a tailspin in the opening couple of months under new coach Alain Vigneault, they closed the season 29-13-4, picking up more points (62) in that span than all but two teams.

That’s cherry picking dates a little but the fact was they were basically a 110-point team for a huge portion of the year, something made possible by not only Lundqvist’s return to form but the team adapting to Vigneault’s aggressive, puck pressure system.

The last Eastern Conference team to win the Stanley Cup, the 2011 Boston Bruins, went into the final versus Vancouver as even bigger underdogs than the Rangers.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/02/kings-are-1017-favorites-to-beat-rangers-32/

[RUPERTKBD]

AV's going to win the Cup. Let that sink in for a moment. No real reason for the NHL to push the Kings over the Rangers. Rangers in 7 for ratings.

Why bother pushing the Rangers? You don't think the ratings would be just as good if the Kings win in seven? If you really want to push this stupid conspiracy thing, you should just go with either team in seven...

I don't get the hatred for the Kings at all. Is it really because Brown hit Henrik one game?

The cheap shot on Hank, running over Lou on several occasions, Jordan Nolan's coward act against Sestito this season and first and foremost (at least for me) the Kings' official Twitter account trolling the Canucks after the series in 2012...

Also, the Rangers have real hockey fans, who've been showing up at MSG for almost 90 years, as opposed to a bunch of basketball fans who come out of the woodwork whenever the Kings are in the playoffs and the Lakers aren't, because the Staples Center is the cool place to "be seen"...

Maybe I'm missing something here but I'm not understanding all the Ranger love on this board.

For those of us who remember '94, who wants to see that again?

I remember '94... but I remember 2012 as well. One of those teams is basically the same as the one currently in the Cup final, while the other one doesn't have a single player still on the roster.

FWIW, I remember '82 as well, but I'd have no problem cheering the Islanders over the Kings either.

I'm hoping for the Rags all day, every day and twice on Sunday. That being said, I believe that the Kings are probably too much for them. I picked LA in seven, because with them, it's always in seven...

[SNACanuck]

I don't get the hatred for the Kings at all. Is it really because Brown hit Henrik one game?

Yes, because of that.

And they will probably win the cup, oh joy <sarcasm>... And they win the cup one time and LA wants to be known as a "hockey town". College basketball has more fans and ranks higher than the Kings in terms of popularity. Heck the raiders and chargers probably have more fans from what I've seen. So the thought of Bettman salivating for a coast to coast Final is sickening. It's not his doing, but you know he luvs it! Gotta please the bandwagoneer fans in Socal.

[Henrik Kesler]

Kings all the way. NYR is a good possession team, but LA is elite. NYR won't be able to keep up over 7 games unless Lundqvist plays the best hockey of his career.

[Bure010]

Maybe I'm missing something here but I'm not understanding all the Ranger love on this board.

For those of us who remember '94, who wants to see that again? And on the 20th anniversary of when the best team(and officials) money could buy beat our Canucks. No thanks.

I might be mistaken but I believe our friend Mark Messier has some token front office job with the Rangers. Who wants to see his name on the cup for a 7th time? Not me.

AV deserves a cup because the Canucks fired him? It's true, AV seems like a nice guy and he's a good coach, but he had the best chance at a cup anybody could hope for a few years ago and he blew it. It's not all his fault but he was the coach and he couldn't make the correct decisions which would've allowed the Canucks to squeeze out that 4th win.

That guy had high scoring, good defense, ace goaltending (at times), division title and Presidents Trophy winning teams, and all he could manage was one failed cup run sandwiched between 1st and 2nd round knockouts. Now he's in his first year in New York with another shot at the cup and Canuck fans are cheering for him? Obviously I'm not. If he wins with the Rags my question is why couldn't he do it here first? His team only managed 93 points in the weak metro division.

because he was coaching the Canucks and for whatever reason no matter how good a team we have or how much things seem to be in our favour, something always happens to make us lose.

If he wins with the Rangers it will pretty much confirm the Canucks are cursed

[Bure010]

Kings all the way. NYR is a good possession team, but LA is elite. NYR won't be able to keep up over 7 games unless Lundqvist plays the best hockey of his career.

If Quick is as terrible against the Rangers as he's been all playoffs then the Rangers can definitely steal some games if Lundqvist is playing well.

Quick is coming into the finals with a 2.86GAA for the playoffs lol

[Master Mind]

Maybe I'm missing something here but I'm not understanding all the Ranger love on this board.

For those of us who remember '94, who wants to see that again? And on the 20th anniversary of when the best team(and officials) money could buy beat our Canucks. No thanks.

I might be mistaken but I believe our friend Mark Messier has some token front office job with the Rangers. Who wants to see his name on the cup for a 7th time? Not me.

AV deserves a cup because the Canucks fired him? It's true, AV seems like a nice guy and he's a good coach, but he had the best chance at a cup anybody could hope for a few years ago and he blew it. It's not all his fault but he was the coach and he couldn't make the correct decisions which would've allowed the Canucks to squeeze out that 4th win.

That guy had high scoring, good defense, ace goaltending (at times), division title and Presidents Trophy winning teams, and all he could manage was one failed cup run sandwiched between 1st and 2nd round knockouts. Now he's in his first year in New York with another shot at the cup and Canuck fans are cheering for him? Obviously I'm not. If he wins with the Rags my question is why couldn't he do it here first? His team only managed 93 points in the weak metro division.

Martin St. Louis deserves a cup? Martin St. Louis already has a cup. Dont get me wrong, I feel sorry for the guy because of his mom's passing and all but what does that have to do with hockey?

St. Louis had a hissy fit when Yzerman left him off the olympic team, Yzerman then puts him on the olympic team and he wins the gold medal, he then pisses and moans his way out of Tampa because his GM Yzerman hurt his feelings or whatever, and now he deserves another cup? I dont know about that.

I do think Lundqvist deserves a cup, his whole career has been great with a team that's mostly been average. I hope he gets traded somewhere else and wins a cup before his career is over.

The Rangers are a completely different team now. '94 is irrelevant. Though I know many people will still hold a grudge against NYR because of it, even though it's a ridiculous reason to hate the 2014 Rangers.

I'd rather Messier get his name on the cup again rather than Brown. At least Messier wasn't going around kneeing people all season.

The "AV deserves a cup" thing isn't about the Canucks firing him, it's because many feel he was robbed of a cup in 2011. Everyone blames him for that loss but realistically, there was nothing he could have done to get that 4th win. As for his regular season, he was a new coach and it takes time for the team to buy into his system, even longer when they start the season with a lengthy road trip.

For St. Louis, I don't care about him wanting a trade, there could be more behind the scenes that we don't know. He's been one of the most respectful players of the last decade. And while a cup isn't going to help with the passing of his mother, I don't know why some people are against the Rangers just because of him.

If anything, it's all the Kings love that makes little sense.

[Honky Cat]

I did predict the Kings to win the SC ( although SJ nearly toasted them in the first round)...and they will...in 6 games..and that's being generous to the Rangers...The Western Conference juggernaut are nothing like the Price-less Habs.

I am rooting for the the Rangers ( for AV),hopefully they can pull it off...!

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Suspended Moore sorry for hit on Weise, eager to play in Cup Final:

New York Rangers defenseman John Moore won’t get to make his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final against the Los Angeles Kings until Game 2 because of his suspension.

Moore was banned for two games following his head-high hit on Montreal Canadiens forward Dale Weise. As Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post shares, Moore is apologetic for what he did and eager to get back into action.

“Obviously, if I could take it all back, I would,” Moore said after Sunday’s practice, the Rangers’ first day back on the ice after two days off. “The biggest thing is I hope Dale is OK, and I just have to get ready for an opportunity coming up here.”

Moore added that he thought he “got in front of” Weise but said he has to make sure he’s not hitting a vulnerable player. A suspended player owning his dangerous hit makes for a pleasant change of pace.

For now, it’s Raphael Diaz who will likely suit up in his place in Game 1. Diaz played in Game 6 against Montreal and he played just 11:35 while on the third pairing with Kevin Klein.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/02/suspended-moore-sorry-for-hit-on-weise-eager-to-play-in-cup-final/

[Raoul Duke]

1994 is water under the bridge, but more importantly, LA winning would be horrible because it is least recognised as a 'hockey town' between the two.

Sorry, still can't get over when the $outhern team$ do so well.

Kings have been in the league since 1967. I wouldn't put them in the same boat as the Panthers or Coyotes. Their fan base is pretty damn loyal, too.

[Bure010]

Kings have been in the league since 1967. I wouldn't put them in the same boat as the Panthers or Coyotes. Their fan base is pretty damn loyal, too.

the tv audience in LA for the NBA conference finals was 3 times bigger than for the NHL conference finals lol. Tells you all you need to know about hockey in LA, non-LA based NBA teams even get more attention.

[Mustapha]

So if there's a Game 7, it will coincide with Marty St. Louis' 39th birthday. Fate? I could see him winning the Cup in Game 7 and retiring Lanny McDonald - style.

Rangers have to watch out however - if they thought PK Subban was dangerous, they will have their hands full with Drew Doughty.

Doughty is basically what Subban wishes he could be one day - IMO the best offensive defenseman in the NHL.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Mats Zuccarello will become the first Norwegian to play in a Stanley Cup Finals.