Dustin Brown's Heroics In Double Overtime Lifts Kings To Victory

For the 3rd year in a row, the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals need multiple overtimes to decide games. In 2012, the Kings and Devils went to overtime in the first two games, last year the Blackhawks and Bruins had to go to triple overtime in game 1 and overtime in game two. This year, the same sort of thing happened. The Kings took game one in overtime 3-2. Then game two required double overtime, after a ton of drama and combacks during regulation, to decide the game. This one took half of the 2nd overtime to decide a winner, and when all was said and done, the Los Angeles Kings came out holding a 2-0 lead in the finals series.

For the 2nd game in a row, the Kings found themselves down, and for the 2nd game in a row they had to come back to pull out the victory. The start of game two really saw both teams kind of feeling each other out. Once we hit the halfway point of the opening period, the Rangers really started to carry the play. New York got on the board first, when at the 10:48 mark, Ryan McDonagh scored his 4th of the playoffs on a blast from the point. This goal was set up thanks to Derick Brassard setting the screen in front of Jonathan Quick. When the shot came through, Quick had Brassard right in front of him and never saw the puck at all till it was coming out of the net. The Rangers would increase their lead to 2-0 at the 18:46 mark thanks to Mats Zuccarello 5th of the playoffs on a good shot that beat Quick. So now the Rangers head into the intermission with a two goal lead.

To the middle period we go, and the Kings jump right back into the hockey game. It takes 1:46 into the frame for Jarret Stoll to score his 3rd of the post season. With this goal, the Rangers just simply missed their assignments. Justin Williams made a great play to pull Henrik Lundqvist out of the net and nobody on the Rangers were able to get to Stoll when he buried the puck into the open net. So now the lead was cut in half. The Rangers would re-establish their two goal lead with a powerplay goal, a rarity I know. But at the 11:24 mark of the middle frame, Martin St. Louis scored his 7th of the playoffs to build the Rangers lead back up to 3-1. This goal was a sweet shot by St. Louis, scoring from one knee to roof the puck over a sliding Quick. I've seen St. Louis score goals like this all the time, so it seems like nothing new for Marty to score that way. Los Angles wouldn't go away quietly, as at the 14:39 mark of the period Willie Mitchell scored his 1st of the playoffs on a blast from the point on the powerplay. This goal again cut the Rangers lead to one, and much like the first goal of the game by McDonagh, the goalie never saw the shot. Dwight King set up a screen in front of Lundqvist, not allowing him to see the shot that beat him high over the glove.

So now the Kings are showing a little more life. The energy wouldn't last very long though. The Rangers would yet again as at the 14:50 mark of the period, just 11 seconds later, Derick Brassard scored his 6th of the playoffs on a wraparound to pull the Rangers up to a 4-2 lead. This was a broken play behind the net with Quick and Dwight King both mishandling the puck and Brassard being left alone in front to jam home the lost puck.

So now going into the 3rd the Kings went back into desperation mode to try and pull even. Here is where the controversy started. It took 1:58 into the 3rd period for the Kings to again get within a goal. Most people were talking about this goal as being a point of argument for the Rangers. Judge it for yourself:

Dwight King got credit for the goal, his 3rd of the playoffs. But lets be honest here, the Rangers do have a gripe, as it was goalie interference. Lundqvist had no way to really be able to make the save on that shot and there was a legitimate argument there. The officials have been calling that most of the playoffs, but in this case they didn't. It's obvious that the Rangers do have an argument here, but it went for nothing as the goal did stand.

At this point, the Kings showed life and jump, clawing their way back into the hockey game. Los Angeles was able to pull even, when at the 7:36 mark Marion Gaborik scored his 13th of the playoffs, on a solid individual effort to get the loose puck and whip it past Lundqvist.

The game would remain deadlock at four through the rest of regulation and all of the first overtime. Then in the 2nd overtime, at the 10:26 mark of the frame, this happened:

Dustin Brown got his stick on the point shot, for his 5th goal of the playoffs. The win gave the Kings a 2-0 lead in the final, heading back to New York for games three and four.

This has become a startling trend for the Rangers here in the finals in the fact that they haven't been able to hold on to a lead in a game. They need to be able to keep their foot on the gas pedal. Sure they have had their scoring chances late in the game, but they have to be able to finish. Now the scene shifts to Madison Square Garden in New York, a place that has been very kind to the Rangers, they always seem to play better at home than they do on the road. But there is something that needs to be looked at going into game three and that has been Lundqvist. In the first three rounds, Henrik has played outstanding. In the first two periods of each of the first two games of this series, Hank has looked good. It's the 3rd period where he has folded and looked below average. This is making me wonder if fatigue is starting to set in with the Kings. Whatever it is, he has to get it together before game three.

Another interesting stat to look at. In every Stanley Cup final since the 2004 lockout, the series has started out 2-0, except for last years finals. In those series, the team that has taken the 2-0 lead has held on to win the Cup five of the seven times. So if you have a 2-0 lead in the finals, the odds are in your favor to win the championship.

Game Three is tonight at 8PM on NBC from Madison Square Garden in New York City!