The View from New York

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Jeff Z. Klein: Kings Climb Out of Hole as Rangers Fall Into One

The Kings had many more shots on goal than the Rangers, but the shot-attempt totals were close to even: 64-63 in favor of the Kings.

Andrew Knoll: With a Flair for the Dramatic, Doughty Fuels the Stoic Kings

Doughty’s lack of recognition could also be attributed to a bit of East Coast bias, but he has been miscast and underrated even in Los Angeles.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Peter Botte: Stanley Cup Final: NY Rangers lose Game 1 to Kings in overtime, Dan Girardi’s turnover leads to winner

Early in overtime, however, Girardi stumbled while back-skating after the puck took a weird hop off his stick in the defensive zone, and his soft clearance attempt from one knee was intercepted along the wall just inside the blue line by Mike Richards.

Pat Leonard: Stanley Cup Final: NY Rangers show speed they need vs. Kings but fade at Game 1 finish

The Blueshirts somehow are going to have to muster their start to Game 1 and more as this series continues. Otherwise, the most memorable part of the franchise’s first Final appearance in 20 years will be the five hype-filled days they spent waiting for it to begin.

NEW YORK POST

Brett Cyrgalis: Rangers drop Game 1 in overtime after blowing two-goal lead

When these two teams reconvene for Game 2 on Saturday, there will be some good the Rangers can take from this performance — almost all of it in the opening period. That’s when they staked themselves to a 2-0 lead behind goals from Benoit Pouliot and Carl Hagelin, then watched as the Kings, this group of seemingly eternal resilience, began to push back.

Brett Cyrgalis: Even three seven-game series can’t tire out Kings

Defenseman John Moore has now completed his two-game suspension, and will be eligible to return for Game 2 on Saturday night. With Raphael Diaz doing an admirable job in his place, Vigneault will have a decision to make on who to play.

NEWSDAY

Steve Zipay: Rangers lose Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final in overtime

Hagelin, the Rangers’ best player besides Lundqvist, said the Blueshirts, who had 27 shots on Quick, overpassed.

Arthur Staple: Rangers played Kings even up through three periods … but oh, that overtime

The Kings didn’t get here by rolling over, of course, so the 2-0 deficit after Hagelin’s short-handed goal was merely a speed bump, not a wall. And the third period was not exactly what the Rangers wanted.

BLUESHIRTSUNITED.com

Jim Cerny: Rangers Drop Game One Heartbreaker In Overtime, 3-2

Eighteen Rangers made their Stanley Cup Final debut–including backup goaltender David LeNeveu who dressed in the place of the injured Cam Talbot. The only two Rangers with prior Finals experience who played Wednesday night were 2004 Stanley Cup champions Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis.

ESPN.com

Pierre LeBrun: Big-game Williams does it again

And that’s just it about these Los Angeles Kings: They can score at will, it seems, to the tune of 3.46 goals per game in these playoffs, tops in the NHL. These are not your 2012 Kings who made the 2-1 victory a staple of their championship journey.

Scott Burnside: Series already tilted in Kings’ favor

The Kings out-hit the Rangers 45-33. Rangers defenseman Marc Staal admitted his squad wasn’t used to the heaviness of the Kings’ forecheck.

Craig Custance: Angry Doughty makes up for gaffe

Angry Drew Doughty eventually made up for the error with a second-period goal that will be Exhibit A if he ends up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Katie Strang: Lundqvist plays lights out in Game 1 loss

Heralded as the one reason the Rangers might have a chance of preventing a lopsided series, Lundqvist made 20 saves in the third. He held his team in it and preserved a 2-2 draw until the end of regulation, even with the Kings awarded a power play in the final 1:36 of play.

NHL.com

Dan Rosen: Williams goal in OT gives Kings Game 1 win

The Kings also won in overtime in Game 1 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final against the New Jersey Devils (2-1); they won that series in six games. Los Angeles has won six straight series after taking a 1-0 series lead.

Dan Rosen: Rangers rue missed opportunities in Game 1 loss

When Staal talks about how the Rangers could have played better, he’s talking about the third period, which was a nightmare for New York but not a costly one because of the play of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who faced 20 shots in that 20 minutes and stopped them all.

Corey Masisak: Kings win opener without their ‘A’ game

The process of cleaning up their issues began in the final 20 minutes of regulation. Los Angeles put together a period of dominant even-strength hockey that exceeded anyone’s expectation of how 5-on-5 play could go in this series when the Kings are rolling.

SB Nation – BLUESHIRT BANTER

Evan Sporer: Rangers vs. Kings Game 1 recap: New York squanders two-goal lead as Kings win in overtime

As far as other Rangers who stood out, McDonagh played a strong game at both ends of the ice, while Hagelin’s speed was again on display and effected the game. Rick Nash also was very involved, registering three shots on goal, and winning puck battles in the offensive zone.