2014 Stanley Cup Finals The 2014 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) ' s season , and the culmination of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs . This was the 121st year of the Stanley Cup ' s presentation . The league realigned its divisions prior to the season , and changed the structure of the playoffs , but the championship series remained the same . The Western Conference champion Los Angeles Kings defeated the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers four games to one to win their second championship in franchise history , marking the first time since 2007 that the championship series was determined in fewer than six games . Their Stanley Cup – winning run of 26 playoff games was the longest of any Stanley Cup – winning team in history . Los Angeles had home ice advantage in the series , as the Kings finished with a better regular season record than the Rangers . The series started on June 4 , and ended on June 13 with the Kings winning their second Stanley Cup in three years . It was the first playoff meeting between teams from New York City and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship since the Yankees and the Dodgers played in the 1981 World Series . 1981 was also the last time the Rangers and the Kings had met in the postseason , where the Rangers eliminated the Kings during the preliminary round of the playoffs . Teams . New York Rangers . This was New York ' s eleventh appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals , and they were seeking their fifth Cup championship overall and their first one since , twenty years earlier . Since their win in 1994 , their only other postseason highlights were reaching the Conference Finals in 1997 and 2012 . The Rangers entered the season after essentially swapping head coaches with the Vancouver Canucks : the Rangers and the Canucks fired John Tortorella and Alain Vigneault , respectively , and then coincidentally hired the other ' s former coach . While Vancouver , under Tortorella ' s first year , failed to make the playoffs , Vigneault guided New York to 96 regular season points and second place in the new Metropolitan Division . En route , the Rangers made a major trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 5 , acquiring Tampa Bay ' s captain Martin St . Louis in exchange for their own captain Ryan Callahan . The transaction happened as Callahan and the Rangers were not close to terms on a new contract , while St . Louis was unhappy at his initial omission from the Olympics by Steve Yzerman ( general manager of both the Lightning and Team Canada ) . In the first round of the playoffs , the Rangers eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games . Then , in the second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins , New York overcame a 3 – 1 game deficit to win the series . In the Eastern Conference Finals , the Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games to capture their first Eastern Conference championship in twenty years . St . Louis ' mother had died during the second round of the playoffs which caused his Rangers teammates to rally around him , as they won the last three games against the Penguins to advance , followed by winning the first two games in Montreal despite struggling there in the regular season . In the process , the Rangers became the first team ever to play two full seven - game series in the first two rounds of the playoffs and still reach the Stanley Cup Finals , a feat later matched and exceeded in the same postseason by the Kings . Due to trading away skipper Ryan Callahan and not naming a successor for the remainder of the season , Rangers were the first team since the 1972 – 73 Chicago Black Hawks to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals without a captain . Los Angeles Kings . Los Angeles made their third appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals and sought to capture their second Cup championship after winning it in . They became the most recent team to make three straight Conference Finals , after the Detroit Red Wings did so in 2007 – 09 . Before 2012 , the Kings struggled in the post - season for much of their existence , except for the 1993 playoffs when they advanced beyond the second round for the first time in club history and went on to lose in the Cup Final . Much of the core from the Kings ' 2012 championship remained on the team . Los Angeles made a late regular season trade on March 5 , acquiring former Ranger Marian Gaborik from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Matt Frattin and two draft picks . The Kings then finished the regular season in third place in the Pacific Division with 100 points . Los Angeles then needed three consecutive game sevens to advance to the Cup Finals ( breaking the aforementioned Rangers ' game sevens record just a couple of days later ) . The Kings became the first team in NHL history to win three game sevens on the road in a single postseason . The team became the fourth team in NHL playoff history to win a seven - game series after losing the first three games , defeating the San Jose Sharks in the first round . The Kings eliminated their local rival Anaheim Ducks next , despite squandering a 2 – 0 series lead and then facing a 3 – 2 series deficit . In a rematch of last year ' s Western Conference Final , the Kings defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final after seeing a 3 – 1 series lead slip away . Like their 2012 championship series , the Kings ' 2014 Cup Finals was marked by a 3 - 0 series start of winning the first two games in overtime and the third as a shutout . With their 2014 Stanley Cup win , the Kings have the distinction of winning the first championship after the league ' s realignment . Their 2012 championship made them also the final team to win the Cup in the league ' s last full season before the realignment , as the 2012 – 13 season was shortened by a lockout . The Kings played a record 26 playoff games to win the Stanley Cup , the most ever for a champion . The series . Game one . The Kings overcame a two - goal deficit to defeat the Rangers 3 – 2 in the first game . New York built their 2 – 0 lead in the first period by scoring 1 : 42 apart . Benoit Pouliot scored first on a breakaway after stealing the puck from Drew Doughty , then shooting past Jonathan Quick . Carl Hagelin then recorded a short - handed goal , as his shot was initially blocked by Quick but then rebounded off of Slava Voynov ' s skate into the net . The Kings ' comeback began with Kyle Clifford ' s goal late in the first period . Clifford shot it in from near the left post after receiving a pass from Jeff Carter . Doughty tied the game in the second period , beating Henrik Lundqvist from the left circle . In the third period , the Kings outshot the Rangers , 20 – 3 , but neither Lundqvist nor Quick allowed any goals . In the final minute of regulation , Quick stopped Hagelin ' s shot on a breakaway , and seconds later Lundqvist barely kept Carter ' s wrap - around shot from crossing the goal line . In overtime , Daniel Girardi turned over the puck in the New York zone , leading Mike Richards to pass the puck to Justin Williams , who then put the puck over Lundqvist to win the game . Game two . The Kings overcame three two - goal deficits to defeat the Rangers 5 – 4 in double overtime . Including their game seven victory in the Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks , Los Angeles became the first team in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to overcome three consecutive two - goal deficits . With the first game also going to overtime , it marked the third consecutive year that the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals went to overtime . Ryan McDonagh and Mats Zuccarello scored in the first period to give the Rangers a 2 – 0 lead . Jarret Stoll then cut New York ' s lead in half at 1 : 46 of the second period . The teams then traded power play goals with Martin St . Louis scoring for the Rangers and Willie Mitchell for the Kings . Eleven seconds after Mitchell ' s goal , Derick Brassard gave New York a 4 – 2 lead after miscommunication between Mitchell and Jonathan Quick behind the Kings net lead to a turnover . Dwight King ' s goal to cut the Rangers ' lead to 4 – 3 early in the third period was controversial . King and McDonagh were fighting for position in front of Henrik Lundqvist when Matt Greene shot the puck from the right point . King made contact with Lundqvist in the crease as he touched the puck before it went into the net but no goaltender interference was called : the referee ruled that the contact occurred after the puck already sailed past Lundqvist . Marian Gaborik then tied the game with an unassisted goal at 7 : 36 of the third during a scramble in front of the New York net . At 10 : 26 of double overtime , Dustin Brown deflected Mitchell ' s shot from the left point into the net to give the Kings the 5 – 4 win . This gave the Kings a 2 – 0 series lead as the series shifted to New York , despite never leading in either game during regulation time in Los Angeles . Game three . The Kings won 3 – 0 , led by the goaltending of Jonathan Quick , who shut out the Rangers on 32 shots . The first period was marked by tight checking , and only nine shots were recorded by the two teams . Mats Zuccarello nearly scored for the Rangers at 12 : 37 of the first , but his shot went off the post and Quick ' s stick to stay out . With one second to play , Jeff Carter ' s shot from the slot deflected off a Rangers defenceman past Henrik Lundqvist to put the Kings ahead by one . In the second period , Jake Muzzin scored from the point on another deflection off a Rangers player . Mike Richards scored later in the period , on a two - on - one , his attempted pass deflecting off a Rangers player back to him , leaving Lundqvist out of position to make the stop . Meanwhile , Quick stopped all 17 shots the Rangers put on the net in the second , including a stick save on Derick Brassard when he appeared to be well out of position to make the save . There was no scoring in the third and the Kings took a three games to none series lead , putting the Rangers on the brink of elimination . Game four . The Rangers avoided becoming the first team since 1998 to get swept in the Finals by defeating the Kings 2 – 1 . In a turn - around from game three , the Kings outshot the Rangers and lost as Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist saved 40 out of 41 shots . Like games one and two , the Rangers scored the first two goals , on goals by Benoit Pouliot and Martin St . Louis . Dustin Brown scored for the Kings in the second period to cut the margin to 2 – 1 . In the third period , the Kings put pressure on the Rangers and nearly tied the score when the puck slid past Lundqvist to rest on the goal line before being cleared away . Earlier , in the first period , another shot by the Kings also rested on the goal line and did not go in . In all , the Kings outshot the Rangers 15 – 1 in the third , but did not score . Game five . The Kings clinched their second Stanley Cup in franchise history , their first since 2012 , by defeating the Rangers 3 – 2 on home ice . This was the first Stanley Cup – clinching game since 2010 to be determined in overtime , and the first time that the home team had the overtime Stanley Cup winner since 1980 . The Kings played 26 playoff games on their road to the trophy , more than any previous Stanley Cup – winning team . The Kings grabbed the lead in the first period with an even - strength goal by Justin Williams . In the second , Chris Kreider converted on a Rangers power play before Brian Boyle scored a short - handed goal to put the road team up by one with 30 seconds left . In the third , Marian Gaborik tied the game at two on a Kings power play . No more goals were scored in regulation and the game went to overtime . The first overtime period featured one penalty for the Kings , but the Rangers were unable to score on the ensuing power play . With five minutes to go in the second overtime period and the Kings on a 3 - on - 2 breakaway , Tyler Toffoli fired a shot that Henrik Lundqvist kicked out directly to Alec Martinez who fired it into the open net for the game winner . At that time , the Kings had outshot the Rangers 51 – 30 . It was the longest game in Kings history . Rosters . Years indicated in boldface under the " Finals appearance " column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year . Los Angeles Kings – 2014 Stanley Cup champions . Defensemen Wingers Centers Goaltenders The Stanley Cup will be engraved in the middle of October then the official order of the 52 names on the cup will be revealed . Included on team picture , but Left off the Stanley Cup Television . This was the last year under the league ' s current Canadian TV contracts with CBC ( English broadcasts of the Finals ) and the cable network TSN ( English broadcasts ) , and RDS ( French broadcasts ) . The NHL ' s twelve - year contract with Rogers Communications would then take effect beginning next season , with English - language national coverage of the Finals being sub - licensed to CBC , and French - language telecasts being sub - licensed to TVA Sports . TSN will only be showing regional games for Toronto , Ottawa and Winnipeg starting the fall of 2014 In the United States , NBCSN broadcast games three and four , while NBC televised the remaining games . NBC Sports originally planned to repeat its coverage pattern from the last few seasons : NBCSN would televise game two and three , while NBC would broadcast game one , and then games four to seven . After the league scheduled Game 2 on the day of the 2014 Belmont Stakes , coverage of games two and four were switched so NBC ' s telecast of the horse race would serve as lead - in programming to Game 2 . Due to the death of a family member , NBC lead play - by - play announcer Mike Emrick missed Game 1 . Kenny Albert , who was also the Rangers radio announcer for WEPN and announced several national games ( including the Western Conference Finals ) for NBC / NBCSN , filled in for Emrick in the first game .