The New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings will meet in the
Stanley Cup finals for the first time in NHL history. The Rangers entered the
National Hockey League for the 1926-27 season and are four time Stanley Cup
winners. The last time the Rangers won the championship was 1993-94. The Kings
entered the NHL in 1967-68 and are one time winners of the Stanley Cup, last
winning in 2011-12.
Not only have New York and Los Angeles not met in the
Stanley Cup finals prior to 2013-14, the two have rarely met at all in the post
season. In fact, the teams have played off against each other on just two
occasions. Both times, it was in a preliminary round series. Both times, the
Rangers were victorious.
Rangers vs. Kings 1978-79
New York and Los Angeles met in the preliminary round of the
1978-79 Stanley Cup playoffs with the Rangers sweeping the series in two games.
New York easily won the first game 7-1 at Madison Square Garden while the
second game was decide in overtime at The Forum in Los Angeles with the Rangers
coming out on top 2-1.
Despite the offensive threat that the Triple Crown Line
provided, the Kings only had goals from Charlie Simmer and Syl Apps on the
series. Marcel Dionne was silenced after an outstanding regular season. Dionne’s
59 goals placed him second in the NHL behind Mike Bossy of the New York
Islanders. His 71 assists placed him third behind Bryan Trottier of the New
York Islanders and Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens. Marcel was second in
the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 130 points, four behind Bryan Trottier.
New York was led by Anders Hedberg, Phil Esposito and Pat
Hickey during the regular season and it was Esposito that led the club with 20
points through the playoffs. New York went on to beat the Philadelphia Flyers
in the quarter-finals and the New York Islanders in the semi-finals to earn a
showdown with the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup finals. Montreal came
out on top in five games.
During the regular season, the Fred Shero coached Rangers
placed third in the Patrick Division with 91 points. The Bob Berry coached
Kings finished third in the Norris Division with 80 points.
Rangers vs. Kings 1980-81
Two years later, Los Angeles and New York met again in the
opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This time, the series was a best of
five affair. This time, it was the Rangers winning again with the series decided
in four games. New York won game one by a score of 3-1, game three by a
whopping 10-3 score and the deciding fourth game by a 6-3 count. The Kings won
game two 5-4. On the series, New York outscored the Kings 22-8.
Through the 1980-81 playoffs, the Rangers were led by Ron
Duguay, Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg. It had been Hedberg, Ed Johnstone and
Ron Greschner that led the club offensively through the regular season. Playing
the bulk of the playoffs in net was the forgettable Steve Baker. New York went
on to the beat the St. Louis Blues in the second round before being swept by
the Islanders in the semi-finals. The Rangers would muster just eight goals
against their cross-town rivals.
The series was certainly a disappointment for the Kings with
the Triple Crown Line at their pinnacle. During the regular season, Marcel
Dionne scored 58 and assisted on 77 for 135 points, Dave Taylor scored 47 and
assisted on 65 for 112 points and Charlie Simmer scored 56 and assisted on 49
for 105 points. Dionne once again finished second in the NHL for goals behind
Mike Bossy. He also once again finished third for assists, this time behind
Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers and Kent Nilsson of the Calgary Flames.
His 135 points was second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy behind Gretzky’s
164.
Bob Berry was still the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.
However, Fred Shero was replaced midseason behind the New York bench by Craig
Patrick. Phil Esposito was still with the Rangers but now behind the bench as
an assistant coach. During the regular season, Los Angeles finished second in
the Norris Division with 99 points while the Rangers placed fourth in the
Patrick Division with just 74 points.
