The Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers have had an interesting path to the finals which may play a big part in the outcome of the series. 

In the first round, the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games, a team that struggled the whole season finding consistency in their backend. They then beat the Penguins, who on paper are an extremely talented team that was hit with the injury bug this season and undoubtedly some of their star players were playing injured. It’s also well known that Marc-Andre Fleury has had his struggles in the postseason. The Rangers took down the Canadiens in the Conference Finals, who were without their star goaltender Carey Price after Kris Kreider lost his balance and crashed into Price accidentally on purpose in Game 1 of the series.

The Kings came back from a 3-0 series deficit against the San Jose Sharks, becoming only the fourth team in NHL history to do so. They then played the Anaheim Ducks in which they took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series before losing three straight, but battled back to win Games 6 and 7. The Kings then faced the defending Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks and won the series in seven. 

Even though all three of the Kings' series went to seven games, it seems at first glance that they may have a disadvantage. More games played results in a tired team, however, the Rangers had two series go seven games and one in six, meaning that they have only played one game less than the Kings. On paper the numbers are almost identical but it is the quality of the opponents that make all the difference. The Kings' Path through the other two California franchises and the defending cup champs was clearly more difficult than the Rangers walk through Central Park. Expect the Kings to have a few more miles on them which may mean they start the series a little sluggish. New York has had three extra days of rest, that may play into their favor for Game 1. 

The Kings have a huge advantage upfront. Their offense has been red hot. Anze Kopitar is leading the way with a league leading 24 playoff points. Marian Gaborik is leading the league in goals with 12. The second line, (Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli) has scored 20 goals, in 21 games almost matching the production of the top line (21 goals). Not only do the Kings have secondary scoring, they are extremely well supported at center. Kopitar, Carter, Stoll and Richards are all great in the circle and sound defensively. There are very few teams in the NHL that have as much depth at center. 

The Rangers have some great offensive talent up front, including Rick Nash, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis, but they have all been quiet. Nash only has 10 points in 20 games. Nash will have to be watched closely though, if he heats up he will be a handful for the Kings defense. 

The Kings are looking great on the back end, with Drew Doughty leading team in ice time (27:50). Willie Mitchell has stood out as a defensive anchor for the Kings. The British Columbia native is logging almost 21 minutes per game. The Kings are also hoping to get back Robyn Regehr from a knee injury. He is expected to be healthy for game two. Ryan McDonagh is leading the Rangers defence averaging 25:11 along side Dan Girardi who is averaging 22:54. Both teams defense is pretty even but goals by defensemen stand out giving Los Angeles the edge. The Kings' defenders have scored 15 goals this post season, while the Rangers' defense has only scored 6.

Both Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick are top-five goaltenders in the NHL, but the advantage has to go the “The King” a.k.a Henrik Lundqvist. He has posted a 2.03 GAA and a .928 save percentage. Quick has put up a 2.86 GAA and a .906 save percentage. The Rangers may not have much going for them against the Kings but look out for Lundqvist. He has the ability to steal games and will steal at least one win for the Rangers.

L.A.’s special teams have been solid. Their power play is converting at 25% and they are 30% at home. The Rangers Power play has only been converting on 13.6% of their power plays. They will have to improve if they are going to have a shot at taking down the Kings.

The Kings are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup and also have home ice advantage which will definitely be helpful if the series goes seven games, however what may be a a negative factor will be the weather. Temperatures in Los Angeles and New York are expected to average about 80 degrees which means ice conditions are likely to be poor and the puck will be bouncing a bit more than usual.