On this day in Rangers history, the Blueshirts won Game 4 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final to keep the series alive. Down 3-0 and facing the threat of elimination, the Rangers edged out a nervy 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden.
This was largely down to their superstar between the pipes. Henrik Lundqvist recorded 40 saves on 41 shots to avoid the indignity of being swept on home ice.
"Hank stood on his head," center Derek Stepan said. "He made some big saves in some big times for us. Hank stood tall and he's a big part of why we are going back to LA."
The Kings unloaded 30 combined shots in the second and third periods. Lundqvist was up to the task and cemented his reputation as one of the NHL's all-time clutch goaltenders. He turned away all 15 shots in the third period as the Rangers were outshot, 15-1.
From start-to-finish, the Kings dominated the ice territorially and out-chanced the Rangers in every period. Overall, the Kings outshot the Rangers 41-19. Lundqvist became the first goaltender to register at least 40 saves in an elimination regulation Stanley Cup Final victory since the NHL began recording saves as an official statistic in the 1950's.
At the time, Lundqvist improved to 11-2 over his last 13 elimination games.
Benoit Pouliot's deflected tally gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 7:25 of the first period. Martin St. Louis doubled New York's advantage by tapping in a loose puck at 6:27 of the second period, following Chris Kreider's net-crashing effort.
"This is do-or-die," St. Louis said. "Before the game, we were in our gameday routine. We're a confident bunch. We've done great things. "We got our first one, and I'm sure that's going to help our mood."
Dustin Brown would get the Kings on the board minutes later at 8:46 of the second period. Brown split the Rangers' defense and scored as the Blueshirts' power play expired. Dan Girardi broke his stick on the play, allowing Brown to dart toward Lundqvist's net.
The Kings came close to tying the contest with 1:11 left in regulation. A redirected Tanner Pearson shot caused controversy. The puck slipped through Lundqvist's five hole and sat just in front of the goal line. Stepan swooped in swatted the puck with his glove. Because Stepan did not cover the puck, a penalty shot was not awarded.
"It's probably the product of moving a lot," Lundqvist said. "I stay deep in the net, so there's a lot of snow there. I thought I had it because I felt the puck, felt like I got a good piece of it on that deflection. I was yelling at the ref to blow the whistle. Then, I realized it was behind me for a couple seconds."
Through a little bit of luck and several Lundqvist's game-saving moments, the Rangers extended the series to a fifth game. Cruelly, the Rangers would lose Game 5 in double overtime. Three of the Kings' victories were decided in overtime.
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