Kings Take 2 Game Lead In Stanley Cup Final

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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings showed again it isn’t how they start the game but how they finish it.

Right winger Dustin Brown deflected a shot by defenseman Willie Mitchell at 10:26 in double overtime, rallying the Kings to a 5-4 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday night in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final before a crowd of 18,532 at Staples Center.

“How we turn the tide of a game over the course of a game, we’re not worried about scoring the game-winning goal,” said Brown, who scored his fifth goal of the playoffs. “We’re worried about playing our game and grinding away. Whether we’re down two (or) up two, the situation doesn’t change for us. Where we’ve faltered is at the start of games. The mentality of our team is very black and white. Our mentality allows us to stay in games and come back.”

The win gave the Kings a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is Monday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Rangers blew a two-goal lead and fell in overtime for the second straight time.

“We have a lead and lose it, but we still have a chance in overtime and we had a lot of looks,” said Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who had a goal and an assist. “But it didn’t matter.”

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick stopped 34 shots and Rangers netminder

Henrik Lundqvist had 39 saves.

Kings right winger Marian Gaborik delivered the tying goal, grabbing a loose puck and slipping it past Lundqvist to even the score at 4 at 7:36 of the third period. It stayed that way until Brown’s winner.

“We all know what type of player he is,” Kings center Jarret Stoll said of Brown. “It’s pretty black and white. Hard, physical, leads by his play. He’s a huge part of our team. There’s a reason he’s got a ‘C’ on his jersey. Big goals, big play, big games. He does it all.”

Kings left winger Dwight King, who had a goal and an assist, deflected a shot by defenseman Matt Greene to cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-3 at 1:56 into the third period before Gaborik forced overtime. Some of the Rangers believed King interfered with Lundqvist.

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault wouldn’t touch it when asked about it after the game.

“You’d have to ask the NHL,” Vigneault said.

Regardless, New York must find a way to dig itself out of a 0-2 hole despite playing well in both contests in L.A. or watch the Kings capture their second Cup in three years.

“It was just a good hockey game both ways,” New York center Brad Richards said. “It is tough to give up two-goal leads.”

McDonagh ripped a wrist shot from the point that found its way through traffic and into the net for a 1-0 New York lead at 10:48 of the first period. It was McDonagh’s fourth goal of the playoffs and extended his points streak to five games and seven of the last eight.

The Rangers increased the lead to 2-0 when center Mats Zuccarello cashed in on a miss by McDonagh with 1:14 remaining in the first period.

Stoll put the Kings on the board at 1:46 of the second period, fielding a backhanded pass from right winger Justin Williams and dribbling the puck past Lundqvist to cut the deficit to 2-1.

After the Kings were penalized for too many men on the ice, center Derek Stepan found right winger Martin St. Louis, who converted a power-play goal from the right circle for a 3-1 Rangers advantage at 11:24 of the second period.

Los Angeles closed to 3-2 when Mitchell fired a rocket from the blue line for a power-play goal with 5:21 left in the second. However, center Derick Brassard answered just 11 seconds later with a goal to give the Rangers a 4-2 cushion.

But that would be it for the Rangers, as the Kings rallied for the game’s final three goals.

“I think we’d rather be up 2-0 for sure, but honestly I don’t know what it is,” Los Angeles center Anze Kopitar said regarding how the team finds a way to rally. “We put ourselves in a hole again, and then we came back. They scored a quick one after we scored the second one to make it 4-2, so I think that just shows the character again of this team and resiliency. We never quit and (we) get it done eventually.”

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