STANLEY CUP FINALS: Los Angeles Kings VS. New York Rangers

This post is a reference for the above referenced series, so check back here for each game.

Game 1: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California. In goal: Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick. New York started in the first period with a Benoit Pouliot goal, his fourth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Rangers added on as Slava Voynov kicked a puck into his own net, which gave Carl Hagelin his seventh of the playoffs, officially a shorthanded goal set up by Brian Boyle and Ryan McDonagh. Los Angeles got on the board when Kyle Clifford scored, thanks to Jeff Carter. The Kings tied it on a second period Drew Doughty goal, his fifth of the postseason, assisted by Justin Williams and Clifford. Los Angeles won with a Williams overtime goal, his eighth of the playoffs, an unassisted goal. The three stars were Williams, Clifford, and Doughty. Los Angeles has a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California. In goal: Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick. New York began in the first period with a Ryan McDonagh goal, his fourth of the postseason, passed from Dominic Moore. The Rangers added on with a Mats Zuccarello goal, his fifth of the playoffs, guided in by McDonagh and Derick Brassard. Los Angeles got on the board in the second period with a Jarret Stoll goal, his third of the postseason, via Justin Williams and Dwight King. New York shot back with a Martin St. Louis power play goal, his seventh of the playoffs, powered by Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider. The Kings pulled back with a Willie Mitchell power play goal, courtesy of Slava Voynov and Williams. The Rangers replied with a Brassard goal, his sixth of the postseason, made possible by Zuccarello. Los Angeles chipped back in the third period with a King goal, his third of the playoffs, fueled by Matt Greene and Williams, the latter getting a sock trick. The Kings tied it on a Marian Gaborik goal, his thirteenth of the postseason, going in unassisted. Los Angeles won on Mitchell's second goal of the game in the second overtime, assisted by Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. The three stars were Mitchell, McDonagh, and Zuccarello, while Brassard, Williams, and King get honorable mentions. The Kings lead the series 2-0 as they head on the road.

Game 3: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York. In goal: Jonathan Quick and Henrik Lundqvist. Los Angeles opened in the first period with a Jeff Carter goal, his tenth of the postseason, fueled by Justin Williams and Slava Voynov. The Kings added on in the second period with a Jake Muzzin power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, powered by Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik. Los Angeles extended the lead as Mike Richards scored his third of the postseason, thanks to Kyle Clifford. The final was 3-0, with the three stars being Quick (32 save shutout), Carter, and Richards. The Kings are on the brink of the Stanley Cup with a 3-0 series lead.

Game 4: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York. In goal: Jonathan Quick and Henrik Lundqvist. New York led off in the first period with a Benoit Pouliot goal, his fifth of the postseason, guided in by John Moore and Derick Brassard. The Rangers added on in the second period as Martin St. Louis scored his eighth of the playoffs, thanks to Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan. Los Angeles got on the board with a Dustin Brown goal, his sixth of the postseason, going in unassisted. This was as close as it got, with the final being 2-1. The three stars were Lundqvist (40 for 41 in saves), St. Louis, and Pouliot. The Rangers staved off elimination, but still trail 3-1 in the series.  

Game 5: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California. In goal: Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles struck first in the first period on a Justin Williams goal, his ninth of the postseason, via Dwight King and Jarret Stoll. New York tied it on a power play goal by Chris Kreider in the second period, his fifth of the playoffs, powered by Ryan McDonagh and Brad Richards. The Rangers took the lead with a shorthanded goal by Brian Boyle, his third of the postseason, with a lone assist by Carl Hagelin. The Kings retied it in the third period on a Marian Gaborik power play goal, his fourteenth of the playoffs, made possible by Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter. Los Angeles won in the second overtime with an Alec Martinez goal, his fifth of the postseason, assisted by Tyler Toffoli and Kyle Clifford. The Conn Smythe winner for playoff MVP was Justin Williams, and the Kings won the series 4-1 with a final score in Game 5 of 3-2.

As this season has drawn to a close, I am planning on taking this blog in a new direction. Obviously, my goal of working on baseball again did not pan out this year, and I will not attempt it again. I am still planning on returning to my third season of the KHL in September, and a month later a fourth season of the NHL. However, I have my doubts as to whether I will attempt another NFL season. I have found a stronger attachment to MLS Soccer, and would like to take it on as my third league, but it is an intensive weekend sport that would interfere with my ability to succeed with the NFL. As such, I will keep you all, my readers, up to date on my status for the NFL season as it approaches. Until then, I will be back in a couple of weeks to resume MLS after the World Cup, and into a very thin summer. We are approaching 25,000 views, and should get there in under four years, so that's very exciting for me. Thank you for your continued support and I will see you hockey fans in the fall. 

MLS Wednesday June 11th, 2014

This is it for MLS action before the World Cup. We will be back at the conclusion of the international event. Keep an eye on the US Open Cup in the meantime, although I will not be covering those games. First off...

The Montreal Impact host DC United. Andrew Dykstra and Troy Perkins are the keepers. DC began in the sixth minute with a Luis Silva goal, set up by Fabian Espindola. Montreal tied it in the twelfth minute on a Jack McInerney goal, coming off of Hassoun Camara. The Impact took the lead with an unassisted goal by Andres Romero in the twenty-first minute. United tied it in the twenty-third minute on a Nick DeLeon goal, again set up by Espindola. Romero digressed from being productive by taking a yellow card for a foul in the twenty-fifth minute. Espindola also had a transgression, earning a yellow card for unsporting behavior in the thirty-third minute. DC took the lead back in the thirty-ninth minute as Silva scored his second of the game, via Espindola. Silva netted the third goal in his hat trick in the fifth minute of first half stoppage time, on a penalty kick. Late in the game, the teams exchanged another set of yellow cards, as Montreal's Wandrille Lefevre and Davy Arnaud of DC each had fouls, in the eighty-first and eighty-seventh minutes, respectively. The scoring was long done, as United won 4-2. Silva was the man of the match, although Espindola gets an honorable mention.

Tonight's other game has the Portland Timbers hosting FC Dallas. Raul Fernandez and Donovan Ricketts are manning the nets. Dallas led off in the twenty-seventh minute with a Fabian Castillo goal, assisted by Blas Perez. Dallas added on as Perez scored, thanks to Tesho Akindele. The teams traded yellow cards early in the second half, as Fanendo Adi got one in the fifty-fourth minute for Portland and Stephen Keel answered with his own in the sixtieth minute, both for fouls. Dallas' goalie Fernandez was given a yellow card in the seventy-seventh minute for time wasting. Portland got on the board with a seventy-ninth minute penalty kick goal by Will Johnson. The bookings continued for Dallas, as Moises Hernandez was shown a straight red card in the eighty-seventh minute for a serious foul, followed by Perez getting a yellow card in the ninetieth minute for a foul, and then he had a more serious offense two minutes into stoppage time, giving him a red card and putting Dallas at nine men. Pa Modou Kah cashed in for the Timbers, scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time to pull level, with an assist by Maximiliano Urruti. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, and the man of the match was Kah for his late equalizer to eke out a point for Portland.

Follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion.

MLS Sunday June 8th, 2014

Two games on this afternoon, beginning with...

The New England Revolution hosting the New York Red Bulls. Luis Robles and Bobby Shuttleworth are the keepers. New York opened in the seventeenth minute on an Eric Alexander goal, set up by Lloyd Sam. New England had the first yellow card three minutes into first half stoppage time, as Chris Tierney was given one for a foul. The Red Bulls picked up yellow cards in the sixty-third minute for Robles' time washing and in the sixty-ninth minute on a Matt Miazga foul. Peguy Luyindula scored in the seventy-sixth minute for New York, an unassisted goal. The Red Bulls had two more yellow cards, as Ibrahim Sekagya was booked in the eighty-sixth minute for persistent infringement and Andre Akpan was shown one for a foul in stoppage time. The game ended 2-0, and the man of the match was Robles, who was kept busy but stayed up to the task in stopping all ten shots directed on goal for a clean sheet.

The other game is in Los Angeles, as the Galaxy host Chivas USA. Dan Kennedy and Jaime Penedo guard the nets. Chivas began in the twentieth minute with an Erick Torres goal, via Martin Rivero. Los Angeles tied it in the thirty-fifth minute with a Gyasi Zardes goal, fueled by Marcelo Sarvas and Stefan Ishizaki. This was it for the action, as the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Kennedy was the man of the match, making six saves to preserve the tie.

Follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion.