You gotta feel for the New York Rangers.
They went into this Final completely disregarded, assumed by all experts, and guys like me, that they had no chance.
The Kings faced the Sharks, Ducks and Blackhawks: Three teams superior to the Rangers and despite the fact that they barely squeaked by each of them, they were basically awarded the Cup when they defeated Chicago.
The Rangers on the other hand, weren't even a lock to make the playoffs most of the year. They defeated the Penguins, but rather than earn respect, people looked at the Penguins injuries and inability to close out the series.
It doesn't matter if the Rangers were extremely lucky to get where they are, because every team that makes the Final needs quite a bit of luck to do so. The fact is, with a premier goaltender, one of the best groups of defenseman in the league and a well balanced group of forwards, they are probably better than they are given credit for.
So, against all odds, the Rangers make the Final and despite their supposedly having no chance to win, they could just as easily be up 3-0 right now as down 3-0.
I'm not saying they have been the best team, as they clearly shouldn't have gotten to overtime in game one, at least. But they did, and by doing so, all they had to do was get lucky to be up 1-0.
Game two went to double overtime. Again, they did nothing wrong, but walked out down 2-0. As has been re-tweeted to the point of insanity, they were down 2-0 without ever trailing in the series.
So last night they come out flying and are stoned repeatedly by Quick. They were easily the best team last night, outshooting the Kings 17-8 in the second and 11-2 in the third.
But they lost and are down 3-0 and have virtually no chance of winning the Stanley Cup, so you have to feel bad for them, considering no one gave them a chance and with just nothing but a slight shift in luck, they could be on the verge of victory.
I know that we will never admit how much of a role luck plays in sports (or life) but I think the Kings are getting -and going to get - a lot of credit they haven't necessarily earned because their Cup run seems to be based on playing decent hockey and getting super lucky when necessary.
Think about it:what are the odds that (even if you have a great roster, as the Kings do) you could come back from 3-0, win three straight game sevens against relatively even opponents, and then win two overtime games and a game your goalie has to steal?
I am thinking those odds are long. Lottery long. Good for them, they deserve their victory, but considering how everyone - myself included - has taken great liberties to point out how lucky the Rangers were to get here and how inferior they are to the Kings, I think it's worth pointing out.
Thanks for reading.