New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 will begin at 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. ET on Friday, June 13, 2014. The Rangers will visit the Kings at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Information on how to watch the Rangers vs. Kings Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 through free online live stream can be found below.
The Rangers were on the verge of elimination in Game 4, where the Kings led the Rangers vs. Kings Finals at 3-0. With home-ice advantage and a four-finger message from Mark Messier, New York Rangers great and actor Michael J. Fox, the Rangers knew that they would need four more wins to get to the Stanley Cup title.
The Rangers have worked hard to get past the Eastern Conference opponents and land in the Stanley Cup Finals, but their Game 4 win showed that they are not about to go out of the championship contention as if they had no more gas left to compete. Now, trailing by two games, New York needs to find a way to win as they had one in Game 4.
"We found a way to win," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said of Game 4, according to Shawn Roarke of NHL.com. "We had no choice and we have no choice [Friday]."
The Kings know that if they don't shut down the Rangers in today's game they may end up going back to the Madison Square Garden. If they do win, they will have a second Stanley Cup championship in the past three seasons.
Although Rangers have rallied from a 2-0 deficit against the Washington Capitals in last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, this year's NHL Finals is an entirely different story.
The Kings came into Rangers vs. Kings Finals by beating the stronger Western Conference teams, including San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and Chicago Blackhawks, three of the top seven teams in the NHL's overall standings this year.
Rangers acknowledged the difficulties in matching Kings' line of center Jeff Carter between wings Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson. Out of the 65 faceoffs in the game, 33 occurred in the Rangers' defensive zone, 16 in the Kings' defensive zone. The Rangers blocked more shots (20) than they managed to get on Los Angeles goalie (19).
Rangers defenseman Dan Giradi admitted the challenge coming from Kings' forwards.
"With their outside speed, they were a real force," coach Vigneault said, according to NHL.com. "It happened a few times when that line was on. We didn't manage the puck the way we were supposed to; they're coming one way, we're going the other.
"It's tough for any forward, Ds or forwards, to be able to handle that speed. We are very award of it and we are going to try to do a better job [today]."
The Kings Radio Network - spearheaded by flagship radio station KTLK AM 1150 (a Clear Channel Communications property) - takes exciting Kings action to the outer reaches of Southern California and beyond. (Listen Live)
Rangers vs. Kings NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 will be televised nationally on NBC Sports and CBC (Canada), and locally on RDS, and HD quality online live stream can be watched at NBCSports.com/LiveExtra.
