Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Kings Stanley Cup Finals: 5 things to know to sound like a superfan
Ben Smith #28 of the Chicago Blackhawks checks Willie Mitchell #33 of the Los Angeles Kings during Game Seven of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on June 1, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois.
(
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
)
The Los Angeles Kings host the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals Wednesday night at Staples, and we've got your guide. The puck drops at 5 p.m.
If you're a fan, you may already know this stuff. But if you're not — or if you'd like a refresher — here are five things to make you sound like an expert.
1. Cracks in the Wall
Goalie Jonathan Quick was a stone wall during the Kings’ 2012 Stanley Cup run. In 20 playoff games that year, he allowed an average of only 1.41 goals per game — a half a goal better than his goals against average during the regular season.
Support for LAist comes from
This year is different. Quick’s goals against average through 21 games is 2.86 – almost a full goal higher than it had been during the regular season.
2. Past Is Not Prologue
The Kings and Rangers split two games this season, but little from those games has much meaning for this series.
The Rangers beat the Kings in Los Angeles — 3-1 — in the third game of the season. Rangers captain Brad Richards scored two goals, while goalie Henrik Lundqvist turned away 29 of 30 shots.
Five weeks later, the Kings shut out the Rangers in New York – 1-0. The Kings’ goalie that night was Ben Scrivens. In January, the Kings traded him to the Edmonton Oilers for a third-round draft pick.
3. Global Icing
You already know that most of the players in the NHL come from Canada or the United States. But hockey is now a global sport, and the rosters of the Kings and Rangers reflect that.
Support for LAist comes from
The Kings have players from Slovenia (Anze Kopitar), Slovakia (Marian Gaborik) and Russia (Slava Voynov).
The Rangers’ roster includes players from Sweden (Henrik Lundqvist, Carl Hagelin, Anton Stalman) and Norway (Mats Zuccarello).
4. Resilient Rangers
The Rangers’ star right winger Martin St. Louis lost his mother to a heart attack last month. He flew home to Laval, Quebec, to be with his father. His father sent him home to rejoin the Rangers during their playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins, telling him that his mother would have wanted him to play. St. Louis and Carl Hagelin lead the Rangers with six playoff goals each.
Rangers center Dominic Moore returned to the NHL this season after 18 months. He’d set his playing career on hold to take care of his wife Katie as she battled a rare form of liver cancer. After Katie’s death in January 2013, Dominic founded the Katie Moore Foundation to raise money for research into rare cancers.
5. Kings’ Road, Road Kings
Home ice advantage? Not when you play the Kings. They’re 7-5 in road games during the playoffs, including three Game 7 wins. When they won the Stanley Cup in 2012, the Kings were 9-1 on the road during the playoffs.
Support for LAist comes from
The Rangers are the King of the Road when it comes to attendance. The average crowd to see the Rangers play on the road is 19,572 – second only to the Toronto Maple Leafs. But the Rangers lead all NHL teams when it comes to percentage of road arena capacity – 111.9%. That’s due in part to Ranger fans who can’t get a ticket to Madison Square Garden following their team on a short road trip to play the New York Islanders or New Jersey Devils.
Are you going to game? Watching it on NBC? Tweet us (@KPCC) or post on Facebook.com/kpcc.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist