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  • For Los Angeles Kings, when does rest become rust for Stanley Cup Final?

    It's late May. You've played three rounds of hockey. The bumps and bruises are there, but you're playing for the Stanley Cup, man.

    The three teams left in the race for the Cup are all feeling the effects of playing an extra month and a half of hockey. And while the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers will be playing their 18th and 20th games of the playoffs (respectively) tonight, the Los Angeles Kings have breezed their way through three rounds with a meager 14.

    The Rangers played that many through the opening two rounds and according to STATS, LLC., no Cup-winning team has ever played more than 18 games to get to the Final.

    By eliminating the Vancouver Canucks in five games and the St. Louis Blues in four, the Kings are used to having time off between series. With eight days between Game 5 against the Phoenix Coyotes and Game 1 of the Final, is that too much rest for the Kings?

    Overtime hero Dustin Penner told Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider that no, it's not:

    "It's something we have dealt with before. We're not worried about the break. Rest isn't the enemy. We've got a lot of time to go over game tape and watch the other teams play live now. … I think everybody is going to take the opportunity to watch and see who we could potentially play. We'll take the rest now."

    Going back to 1994, only five of the 17 teams with the longest break between the Conference Final and Final have gone on to win the Cup, with the last being the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, who had six days between games. In 2003, the Anaheim Ducks swept the Minnesota Wild, then had to wait 11 days for their next game as the Devils and Ottawa Senators went the distance in the East. New Jersey would end up winning the Cup in seven games.

    The Kings won both Game 1s against the Blues and Coyotes despite the time off heading into those series and their play so far has demonstrated no signs of rust. Starting the Final on the road in either Newark or New York City could also help quell any nerves not having the pressure to perform in front of their home crowd. That and Los Angeles' road dominance (8-0) so far this postseason can't hurt, either.

    So when the puck drops for Game 1 next Wednesday night, Los Angeles will be more than fresh compared to whoever their opponent will be.

    Given their success up to this point, there doesn't appear to be anything that could slow down the Kings.

    Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

  • Stephen Gionta leads Devils in Game 5 triumph over the New York Rangers

    Full disclosure: This entire post is just an excuse to show you this unbelievable photo by Bruce Bennett.

    The New York Rangers controlled Game 5 for 40 minutes, limiting the New Jersey Devils to just 10 shots during that stretch and outscoring them, 3-0.

    Unfortunately, these 40 minutes were bookended on either side by 10 minutes that they did not control. During those 20 minutes, the Devils scored 5 times on 7 shots, and that was all the offence they'd need in a 5-3 win.

    It was a strange Game 5 -- "An adventure," according to Devils coach Peter DeBoer -- with all sorts of unexpected offense and strange bounces. The Devils came out flying, beating Henrik Lundqvist twice in the first five minutes. Stephen Gionta opened the scoring after finding himself alone with a rebound in front of Henrik Lundqvist. Then, just two minutes later, Patrik Elias doubled the lead when an Adam Henrique point shot pinballed around like it was teaching children how to count to 12 before deflecting off the back of his leg and in.

    Five minutes later, Travis Zajac stunned the Madison Square crowd when he extended the lead with a perfectly-placed wrister off the rush.

    This put the Rangers in a tough spot. They had only reached four goals in a game once this poststeason -- in the playoff opener versus the Ottawa Senators in April 12. But they were undeterred by the daunting task, and they put their game into overdrive.

    Also they got some luck.

    Brandon Prust put the Rangers on the board before the first period had ended, fighting off the check of Marek Zidlicky to muscle a puck toward the goal, where Marty Brodeur misplayed it, missing on a pokecheck and watching it slide underneath him.

    Then, just 30 seconds into the second, Ryan Callahan matched Patrik Elias's good fortune from the period prior when he had a puck go in off his leg (although he helped it along a little).

    And finally, the Devils' lead was erased just 17 seconds in the third period when the trapezoid finally got Marty Brodeur:

    A routine play of the puck turned into an adventure for Brodeur when it hopped over his stick and into the no-zone. With Marian Gaborik bearing down on him, Brodeur retreated back into the goal, but not before Gaborik threw the puck into his feet. It eventually found its way in.

    Then it was the Devils turn to shrug off an unfortunate string of events, and they did it.

    Again, it was Stephen Gionta getting the ball rolling, as he made a beautiful pass to Ryan Carter in front of Henrik Lundqvist.

    Carter made no mistake, putting the Devils ahead for good.

    Peter DeBoer would praise Gionta's whole line for their performance Wednesay:

    Our whole fourth line, I thought they were the story tonight," he said. "Gionta gets a goal, Carter gets a goal, Bernie gave us some big minutes. They really have given us momentum throughout the playoffs. And that's playoff hockey.  There's always unsung heroes and guys that step up this time of year, and we've got a bunch of them."

    Now, the Devils head back to the Prudential Center with a chance to close out the series and head to the Stanley Cup Final, and if that isn't enough motivation, they've got some history to correct as well.

    The two teams were in this exact position in 1994, with the Devils heading home up 3-2 when Rangers' Captain Mark Messier guaranteed a Game 6 win and delivered, sending the series back to Madison Square Garden for Game 7 and Stephane Matteau's double overtime series winner.

    But these aren't the 1994 Devils; and if the 3-man forecheck with under two minutes to go and a one-goal lead didn't convince you, they'll be looking to make it official in Game 6 in Newark on Friday.

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