Kings vs. Rangers Game 2 Preview and It's Not Looking Good For The Boys In Blue

All of the analysts and fair weather hockey fans said the Kings would come out sluggish in Game 1.  That the Black Hawks series was far too draining, not to mention it was the Kings third series of this post season to be decided in 7 games.  But what did the Kings do?  They battled back from a 2-0 deficit to win Game One 3-2 on the back of Jonathan Quick yet again.  I mean what a phenomenal save on Hagelin's breakaway in the final minutes of the game.  Quicky has that switch that he can flip on and off, similiar to Lebron James.  Not too many people have that.  If he lets up a few goals early, Stugatz (foooogrrrget bout it), he knows he has the team to back him up.  That's when Quicky goes into lock down mode, and becomes tougher to get by than the Bouncers in Pacific Beach.  

The Kings are off to a great start at home thanks in large part to Justin Will iams.  The same Justin Williams who just surpassed Mark Messier and  The Great One: Wayne Gretzky as the all time points leader in Game 7's.  This 32 year old Canadian has been flying under the radar but really is an immense contributor to this Historic run the Kings are on.  Although a clutch player and hot goalie can carry the team for a period of time, and they cannot do it alone.

The Kings have the best 1st line in all of hockey!  Anze Kopitar is an absolute stud and is probably the best two way center in the lead.  Marion Gaborik has been an absolute beast since landing in LA.  He leads all scorers with 12 goals this playoffs.  That's not a typo 12 goals, and he for sure is not done.  Then there's the Captain, Dustin Brown, who is sometimes forgotten on a team filled with studs.  There is a reason this man wears the C on his chest.  He is a leader and a damn good player at that, hence why The Kings named his the youngest Captain ever, at the time, at 23 years old.  Along with Quicky Dustin carried the Kings to the Stanley Cup in 2012.  They defeated the heavily favored #1 seed Vancouver Canucks with Dustin scoring not 1 but 2 short handled goals in a critical game.  He ended the 2012 playoffs with 12 goals and 8 assists.  It's not surprise the Kings have reached The Western Conference Finals 3 years in a row and are now playing for their Second Stanley Cup in 3 years.  

Shortly after their 2012 Championship they signed Dustin Brown to an 8 year 47 million contract extension, Quick signed a 10 year 70 million contract shortly after, ohh yeh and Kopitar signed a 7 year $48 million dollar after that.  Talk about a chain reaction that most likely gave every Kings executive a wet dream.  Their 3 best players locked up for at least 7 more years.  Is it shocking they're back in the finals?  Absolutely not.  They were also able to keep Drew Doughty who is really starting to come into his own.  I was shocked to find out he is only 24 years old, I feel like he was playing in the league for as long as Aaron Craft was at Ohio State or Scottie Reynolds was at Villanova.  Aaron Craft coming back for his 14th year?  Well Turns out Doughty has been a contributor on The Kings since 2008 when he was 18 years old!!  This Kings Team is Young, Big, and Fast and locked up for years to come.  They will be a force in the West for the next decade if not THE FORCE, and adding the Great Marion Gaborik to this team was like throwing Wild Fire onto the recent San Diego Fires.  What an addition The Czechoslovakian has been.  12 goals and 7 assits.  Bet the Rangers wish they held onto Gaborik now.

However the Rangers are a good team and it will not be an easy road for the Kings to win the Stanley Cup, although I do think they will.  In face I'm so positive they will win that if the Kings do lose I will swallow a live Gold Fish and posit it on a blog in the near future.  If someone else has a worse a punishment  hell I'll d that instead.  Tweet your suggestions @ToddVito18  

It'll be great to get back veteran defenseman Robyn Regehr to compliment Doughty.  According to all reports he's suiting up for Game 2 in LA.  If this Kings win this game series is over, Kings play even better on the Road than they do at home.  Then again they just play awesome everywhere.  Rangers have a tough task on their hands, but one thing is for sure they should have never gotten rid of Marion Goborik and they should have been paying Quicky and Dustin Brown under the table in Prep Schhol to come play for The Rangers.  Both of those guys grew up in the Rangers backyard.  Not MSG's backyard which includes a Subway system and a concrete jungle, I mean the place with grass,  and Rangers fans are smoking Grass if they think they're going to win this Series.  Kings in 5.

P..S--I hope Donald Silver is a huge Kings Fan.  The Kings are without a doubt the best team that plays in The Staples Center, and none of their players have AIDS.  I'm pumped for this game, because each game is going to be exciting and down to the final minutes if not sudden death in OT.  But the Kings just have that "It" Factor, the ability to battle back like no other team in the NHL.  3 Game 7 Road wins in the West and they know what it takes to win a Championship.  These Kings play like a team that knows they're going to win, even Tommen Barathean would take a back seat to the boys in Black.  

Double P.S.--If the Rangers win Henrik Lundqvist should forever be known as the King Slayer.