Photo: USA Today

Photo: USA Today

Well the series didn’t start the way we had hoped. Jumping out of the gate to a 2-0 lead, the Rangers were eventually overrun by a very physical Kings team, losing in overtime. It was a game the Rangers could have won, but turnovers were costly, leading directly to a pair of Kings goals, including the winner. There is a dire need to win Game Two tonight, as heading home down a pair of games to a great LA team is a daunting task.

Daryl Sutter has the Kings playing a system similar to that of John Tortorella’s Rangers. They generally run an aggressive overload 2-1-2 forecheck (forecheckers attack the same side of the ice) and they play a 2-1-2 zone defense off the wall (two guys take the hit zone, one takes the support zone, two have the slot). Once the puck moves up high, depending on the matchup, they’ll attack the blue line or collapse their forwards.  They play a hybrid penalty kill, and a 1-3-1/modified umbrella on the powerplay.

Kevin did a complete preview and breakdown of this series here. Justin looked atJonathan Quick and some deficiencies in his game here.

Rangers Lines:

Forwards

Chris KreiderDerek StepanRick Nash
Carl HagelinBrad RichardsMartin St. Louis
Benoit PouliotDerick BrassardMats Zuccarello
Brian BoyleDominic MooreDerek Dorsett

Defense

Ryan McDonaghDan Girardi
Marc StaalAnton Stralman
John Moore-Kevin Klein

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

Scratches/Injuries: J.T. Miller (healthy), Justin Falk (healthy), Dan Carcillo (suspension), Raphael Diaz (healthy)

Game time is 7pm on NBC. Don’t forget to check out our Rangers Tickets link for deals to attend games.

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