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Stanley Cup Finals
Game 4 - Los Angeles leads series 3-0
Puck Drops: Wednesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: New York -130, Los Angeles +110, Total: 5
The Kings are one game away from winning their second Stanley Cup in three years as they go for the sweep of the Rangers in Game 4 on Wednesday night. Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook breakdown on Game 4: The first two games in Los Angeles could have gone either way as New York blew multiple two-goal leads and fell in overtime in both instances. However, that was not the case on Monday night, as the Kings dominated the game, winning 3-0. It was a close first period as the two teams were scoreless for all but 0.7 seconds, when C Jeff Carter scored to give L.A. a lead it would never relinquish. That goal completely changed the momentum of the game, as the Kings went on to score two more goals in the shutout victory. The Rangers offense did a good job of getting opportunities, as they outshot their opponent 32-15, including 28-10 over the final two periods. However, Jonathan Quick showed why he is one of the best goalies in the NHL with his best performance of these playoffs. New York also did a good job of hitting Los Angeles with a 25-18 edge in the hits department. After the first two games, the Rangers seemed to be confident knowing they had great opportunities to win on the road. However, they showed signs in the third period of being a defeated team. Earlier in the playoffs, the Kings were down 3-games-to-none to San Jose, but were able to come back for the series victory. With that in mind, look for the Los Angeles to not take this lead for granted and to try and end this series quickly. The Kings are 8-5 in the postseason on the road this year, showing time and time again the composure to get victories in front of hostile crowds. The goal for Carter was his 10th of the postseason, giving the Kings a reliable go-to scorer. D Jake Muzzin (1 goal on 2 SOG) and C Mike Richards (1 goal on 2 SOG) were able to record the other tallies for the Kings, but Game 3 came down to the performance of Jonathan Quick, who saved all 32 shots he faced. For much of this postseason, Quick has been good, but not his normal dominating self. On Monday night, that was not the case, as Quick was just terrific from the very beginning of the game. When he is able to play like that, the Kings become nearly impossible to beat. One thing Los Angeles will need to do though is put more pressure on the Rangers defense. While the club was able to score three goals, it was able to get off only 15 shots. Against a goalie like Henrik Lundqvist, the Kings will need to pepper more shots on net, as there is a very good chance that Lundqvist is going to play a much better game. For the Rangers, they are a dangerous and desperate team, and that can be a very difficult team to deal with. While the two losses in Los Angeles were big, New York showed it could play with the Kings. However, Game 3 at home was a huge disappointment, as the team could not overcome the goal allowed in the final second of the first period. The Rangers definitely had their chances to score on Monday, but were unable to get anything going against Quick. In the second period, they outshot their opponent 17-8, but were outscored 2-0. New York was also 0-for-6 on the power play, and is now 1-of-14 with the man advantage this series. But the club's power-play unit did a terrific job of attacking, with Derick Brasard (5 SOG) was the leader of the Rangers offensive attack, but like the rest of his teammates, he was unable to get the puck past Quick. If New York is able to greatly outshoot the L.A. again in Game 4, then it has a great chance of sending the series back to California for another game. However, the Rangers must get a stellar performance by Henrik Lundqvist to extend their season.
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