The NY Rangers and LA Kings are playing in Los Angeles in the Stanley Cup playoffs for Game 2 on Saturday night from the Staples Center and New York must win this game after losing in overtime in the first matchup and they are down 1-0 and basically gave away the game with turnover to Justin Williams and now Henrik Lundqvist must continue his strong play into the next matchup.
The Rangers lost on a bad play and a turnover from Dan Girardi in their own zone in overtime and that set up a wide open shot from Justin Williams one on one with Henrik Lundqvist and he won that game for them and now it's 1-0 heading into Game 2. This is a must win for the Rangers, as the series could be totally deflated going down 2-0 back to MSG after being so close to winning Game 1 and taking a 2-0 lead in that game.
The Rangers come into the game down 1-0 in the series, but they played very well apart from a few mental lapses and even though they lost the game the team showed that they can play with the Kings. The team got off to a fast start in the first game with two fast goals and now they have to try and do that again while using their speed and that is the best advantage they have over the Kings. The team was as fast as they will be in this series and Carl Hagelin and Benoit Pouliot showed how dangerous that speed can be and they will need that once again and the team also had Mats Zuccarello play well and they need those players to step up on Saturday night.
Jonathan Quick did not have nearly as much work to do as Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers were totally beat in the third period and then they lost the game in overtime. The team has been 5-2 this year with a loss in the last game and this could be a turning point in the series for the team and while technically it's not a must-win game, it feels that was for the series and they would like to come in with a 1-1 series heading back to Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers penalty kill was ranked third in the NHL and it has continued to be very good in the playoffs and the team will need that to be effective once again. The team has been able to make adjustments in the playoffs and during the season and the Rangers know they made two major mistakes that led to goals in the game and they have the confidence of knowing that they took the Kings to overtime.
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