Williams Nets a Series Lead for the Kings

Keeping the Los Angeles Kings down appears to be a herculean task in these playoffs this year, because they just cannot be beaten.  Teams have been able to knock them around, put them behind the 8-ball, but they have just found a way to be the better side.

On Wednesday night, the Kings opened up the Stanley Cup Finals at home against the New York Rangers with their eyes on the prize, but had to do a double-take early on, as the Rangers found a 2-0 lead in the 1st period on an unassisted goal from Benoit Pouliot and a shorthanded marker by Carl Hagelin.  An early lead hasn't derailed the Kings before, as they were able to pick up a goal before the end of the opening frame from Kyle Clifford, his 1st of the playoffs.

In the 2nd period, the comeback, as unremarkable as it was, was completed by Drew Doughty, who scored a beauty, short-side on Henrik Lundqvist.

From the tying goal through the end of regulation, it was pretty much all Los Angeles, putting the pressure on, but Lundqvist did well to keep the home team from taking it in the first 60 minutes.  The Kings outshot the Rangers, 20-3, in the 3rd period and the standout goaltender from Sweden had to make some unbelievable stops for the win.

Unfortunately, it was all for naught, as the defense in front of Lundqvist, because much like the Doughty goal in the 2nd period, Justin Williams had all kinds of time in front of the Rangers net, as he found just enough space to put the winning goal in and just like that, the Kings had a 3-2 win in overtime and a 1-0 series lead.

The only team in the top seven not to get 3 points in the opening game was Wes M., but he remained in 3rd place, losing a point on 1st and 2nd place, Travis G. & Corey M..  The result really didn't change much in the standings, rather it kept everything good and tight, ready for Game Two on Saturday night.

Burc B. took an early lead in the Cup Finals scoring, as his was the only team to pick up 5 points in the win.  Burc has Williams, Doughty and Jake Muzzin on his team and it was the perfect combination for the early lead in the round.  Unfortunately for Burc, his team is 13th, 24 points back of 4th place and clawing back a point at a time in these games won't be enough.