Cockroaches are hard to kill. In fact, they simply won’t go away.
Such is the existence of the 2014 Los Angeles Kings, compared to a bunch of cockroaches by many this postseason.
Down, 3-0, in their opening series vs. San Jose – the Kings bounce back with four-straight wins to shock the Sharks.
The Ducks looked like they were in control with a 3-2 series lead, only to see the Kings win the last two contests, including a butt-kicking in Anaheim for Game Seven.
The defending Cup champion Blackhawks won a big Game Six on the road and then jumped out to a 2-0 lead at home in Game Seven, only to see the Kings stun Chicago in overtime.
Yes, NY Rangers, you’re not alone in feeling all empty inside after getting the Kings right where you want em (kind of like Wile E Coyote right before the Road Runner dodges his fake painted tunnel and avoiding the ACME anvil poised to land on his head).
Want to hear an unreal stat? The Kings have never led, even for one second, in all of the last three games, yet are 3-0 in them (Game Seven of the West Finals and the first two contests of the Stanley Cup Final).
Think the Kings give a rip? Nope.
“We find ourselves in the same situation regurgitating the same mumbo jumbo every time,” said Kings forward Justin Williams after Game Two’s double OT win. “We’re in a results-oriented league and the results are we’re up, 2-0. I don’t care how we got here.”
Yeah, I think most teams would like some of that mumbo jumbo.
The Rangers, of course, are saying the right things. They could easily be up, 2-0, themselves. But they’re not. One has to wonder what their real mental makeup is right now.
Confidence is still there, no doubt. No stranger to being on playoff life-support themselves, the Rangers were down, 3-1, in their series vs. Pittsburgh and came back to win.
But let’s face facts – the Rangers must win four of the next five to win. Math don’t lie, and it can be a daunting path. New York’s M.O. is simple – win Game Three at home. That’s it. Win Game Three and you’re back in the series. Of course, if they lose it, it’s all over. No pressure or anything.
The Kings have four wins in the postseason after falling behind by two-or-more goals. One more would tie the Philadelphia Flyers’ mark of five 2-goal comeback wins, set in 1987. But LA finds itself in a strange position – up in a series. Yes, they were up by the same 2-0 edge vs. Anaheim. But that was heading into two home games for LA where they surely relaxed a bit. No way they’re relaxing going into the lion’s den that is Madison Square Garden for Games Three and Four.
The Rangers did look like the better team in Game Two. They just didn’t get the result, which is all that matters.
The Blueshirts need to find a way to turn their focus away from that painted tunnel and rather find a way to land that anvil on the head of the Kings in Game Three. Whatever the case, the Rangers need to turn out like the Road Runner rather than Wile E this time. Last time I checked, the coyote was at the bottom of a ravine with a lit stick of dynamite about to go off. And cockroaches were laughing at him.
