NEW YORK – The Los Angeles Kings are one more win away from their second Stanley Cup in franchise history following a convincing 3-0 shutout of the New York Rangers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Rangers were looking to feed off of the raucous crowd at Madison Square Garden, but were unable to get anything going as the period progressed. This would continue to be a trend for the Rangers throughout the game.
Jeff Carter’s shot deflected off of the skate of Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi and past Henrik Lundqvist with 0.07 seconds left in the first period put the Kings ahead 1-0 heading into the first intermission. With Carter’s goal, the Kings jumped out to the lead for the first time this series.
Midway through the second period, with Rangers defenseman Marc Staal in the penalty box for high-sticking, Jake Muzzin’s shot from the point found its way past Lundqvist after deflecting off of the glove of Martin St. Louis to double the Kings lead and make it a 2-0 game. Kings forward Mike Richards put the finishing touch on Game 3 with less than five minutes left in the second period.
His initial shot was saved, but his second attempt found the back of the net to give the Kings a 3-0 lead.
It was a frustrating night all around for the Rangers. Despite giving up a late goal, they continued to fight and threw a fury of pucks at Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick. However, the Rangers were not able to capitalize on their chances, despite their best efforts. Quick, who was named the game’s first star, turned away every Rangers shot fired his way en route to a 32-save shutout.
It was the second shutout for Quick this postseason and it came in his first career NHL game at Madison Square Garden.
The Stanley Cup will be in the building on Wednesday night when the Kings look to complete a Stanley Cup Final sweep for the first time since the Detroit Red Wings did so in the 1998 Stanley Cup Final against the Washington Capitals. The Rangers will look to extend the season and take the first step in joining the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, currently the only team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup.
Game 4 can be seen on Wednesday night at 8 pm on NBCSN.
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