AV Says He Likes The Rangers Chances Against the Kings
ESPN- The Los Angeles Kings may be the heavy favorites to capture the 2014 Stanley Cup championship, but New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault is confident that his team can pull off the upset. “Even though a lot of people aren’t going to give us a chance, I like our chances,” Vigneault said after Monday’s practice at the Rangers’ training facility. “I like our group. I like our focus. I like the way we compete. “I know L.A.’s been there before. I know they’ve won before [in 2012]. I know they’ve gone to three Game 7s [this postseason] and won them, and they just beat the defending Stanley Cup champions [the Chicago Blackhawks]. I get that. … But we’ve really rallied around ourselves and the opportunity [to play for the title].”
So AV came out yesterday and says he likes the Rangers chances against the Kings, and of course the peanut gallery on twitter comes out in full force about how the Western Conference is so loaded, and the Rangers were playing for second place, and Kings in 5 and blah, blah, blah. At some point this playoffs I guess the Kings suddenly morphed into an unbeatable juggernaut while the Rangers have blindly stumbled into the Stanley Cup playoffs by accident? Like we’re supposed to be scared of this team. Do I sound scared? Does this man look scared?
No. Those piercing ice-blues are ready to stare down the Kings like he has so many offenses this Cup run. Fact of the matter is Quick has looked EXTREMELY shaky the past few weeks (Patrick Sharp’s second goal was one of the softest goals I’ve seen let up by anyone all playoffs), the Rangers roll four lines deep of quality forwards, and we have the most talented goalie in the NHL with Handsome Henrik between the pipes. Yes, Doughty is a top defenseman, the Kings have the best 1-2-3-4 punch of centers the NHL has seen in a long, long time, and the Kings have Cup experience. But anyone who thinks this will be short work by the Kings hasn’t been paying enough attention to this Rangers squad all playoffs. Sorry Kings fans, but this will not be over quickly, you will not enjoy this.
PS: Anyone else try to buy a Rangers jersey for $64 dollars on NHL.com and get an email saying they’re “out of stock”? Is there another league that consistently pisses on it’s most loyal fans like the NHL? I guess the NFL is one London franchise away from that honor.
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