from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

The fear is real now. It has to be.

For much of the night it appeared that the rumours about the imminent demise of the New York Rangers were unfounded. Then the Los Angeles Kings jolted back to life and signaled their intention to make this Stanley Cup final a quick one.

If you were scoring this like a prize fight, you might even have the Rangers ahead through two games stretched over nearly eight periods of hockey. However, that was of little solace for a team that can’t help but wonder if a golden opportunity is slipping through its fingers.

“We played five periods,” New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said after Saturday’s 5-4 double overtime loss. “Obviously, the difference is not very big. Even the last game the difference is not big. You just have to stick with it and believe in each other and what we’re doing.

“It’s good, it’s definitely good enough; it’s just one bounce here or there and it’s a different score here.”

continued

from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

They are the royal cockroaches of the NHL.

And we say that as a term of endearment.

You cannot kill the Los Angeles Kings. They will not go away.

continued

from Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star,