All this love for the Kings...

Well I am not on that bandwagon and here are my reasons why:

1. The Kings had a much tougher road to get here, not only did they have to play 3 game 7s against 3 very good teams, but their last series was one of the most brutal EVER to be played. Lets look at the hit counter of the last 3 games to put matters into perspective and remember, a lot of these werent just love taps, we are talking absolute bombs that really take its toll on the body:

Game 5 Kings-Hawks: 91 hits  Game 4 Habs-Rags: 41 hits
Game 6 Kings-Hawks: 83 hits Game 5 Habs-Rags: 56 hits
Game 7 Kings-Hawks: 71 hits Game 6 Habs-Rags: 42 hits

No matter how strong & well conditioned a team is, this type of physical punishment will eventually take its toll, I just dont believe the Kings will be the same team in the finals and the tank might be empty.

2. This series will be the first time in the playoffs where the Kings dont have a goaltending advantage on paper. I think Quick was the difference in that series vs the Hawks, he made many more big saves in that game 7 than Crawford (esp in the 3rd & 2nd period) but Lundqvist has better numbers and at the least, he will go toe-to-toe with him. 

3. Alain Vigneault > Darry Sutter. 

Rangers in 6, BOL to all 

You are correct with all of your points and your prediction. See you at the ticket counter.

Quicky was useless vs. the Hawks. Did you even watch a single game? Your point about Quick even contradicts itself since you're claiming he was the difference in the series. Who's to say he can't be the difference again? Makes no sense.

Rangers games played - 20

Kings games played - 21

One series finished earlier. Big woop.

Kings have beaten 3 teams that all would be favoured to beat the Rangers in a 7  game series. Your logic is awful. Kings throw the body and Rangers are soft as poo. Obviously, the former is going to out-hit the latter in any comparable 7 games series. Not to mention you're not accounting for the extra game played in the Chi/La series.

Kings crush NY.

Also, Sutter and Vigs are equal coaches. This is not NCAA March Madness little boys need old men to tell them how to play. The players decide these games.

I heard you saying in hooks threads all year how the west was so much better then the east & now that hawks are out you changed your tune.

The western conference was better than the Eastern conference for sure, all the numbers support that as well, but that doesnt mean the winner has to come from that conference. In fact, that is why I believe the Kings are so banged up and wont be the same team because they had to go through hell to get here. 

I stopped reading his post after the first sentence "Quick was useless vs the hawks".

your stats above only reflect that rangers are a soft team.
sorry sutter over vigneault all day every day.
van was a better team than the kings when the kings won.
sutter has won b4 alain zilch.
i think ur just sore that ur hawks who were assisted by the refs last night - didnt win.
kings in 5

 GL  Buddy

Im shocked this is your stance bhawks. I can honestly say I didn't see this coming. I get where you're coming from, I just personally don't agree with that angle. Never the less, BOL to you bro

Just like the Rangers in this spot man, my team is my team but I care about my money more than anything, if anything I should want the Kings to win because that would make the hawks look better (losing to the champs).

Hawks were assisted by the refs but Jeff Carter scored an offside goal, makes sense...you are an idiot. 

Yeah I was super confident wheaty that the Kings would win the cup but after sitting back analyzing some of the games and looking at certaing issues, I feel like the Rangers are the pick for the most part in this series. 

Certain issues?  Seeing this is a sports betting site designed for sharing info do you care to elaborate on these issues?

Thanks, BOL Norbert

Kings do nothing easy.  Played sloppy last 3 games vs. hawks and were fortunate to win game 7.  Also on winning goal Williams tomahawked stick out of leddys hand with no call.  Quick has not been great and I love the rangers over all team speed.  Kings luck runs out, rangers in 6.

A lot of the general matters I mentioned in the original, but I can go into details as to why I think Vigneault will make a difference in this series.

One of the Hawks main rivals in past years had been the Canucks playing under the Vigneault system and I had always been impressed by his teams defensive discipline/planning & ability to cause space issues for the Hawks stars. On paper, the Canucks were an inferior team but because of Alain they would always cause problems Chicago (2 tough series wins and a game 7 loss). So I really respect that man and I believe with proper planning he will shut down the Kings offense using his teams speed. There are 2 things I noticed the Kings love to do (against the hawks):

1. Dump & chase, grind the other team down with a heavy forecheck, cycle the puck low to high and the team has a heavy "shot mentality". If your puck movement is crisp and you have big skilled players, this system works to your favour. The flaw with it however is the predictability, limiting your options and good D will break this up often at the half boards. 

2. Break out using the wings, dummies through the middle and then forward spread to the sides, with D men suddenly jumping up this often results in openings (especially when the pass comes from the side to middle).

There are obviously many other ways a talented team like the Kings can hurt you but this is their 2 most common forms of attack in these playoffs, I think the Rangers are a smart team under Vigneault and have the speed to cause problems for the Kings.

I think their speed will help them defensively & offensively vs the Kings. 

Very nice bhawksfan. Good stuff. Thanks for the insight. Much appreciated. Good luck man!

BOL

a bit surprised, but do like your theories.will be on rags game one, and might back it up game two if I am wrong(have to see what happens tonight) at the moment i am leaning kings in a long series(which is where your thoughts should kick in full time)but that can change by the game by game action. best of luck bhawksfan!

Just all theories, I think I m gonna make a play on the Rangers tonight as well, kind of feel things out and take it out from there. I could have written an essay why the Bruins would beat the Habs but halfway through the series I changed my mind and started taking the habs based on what I was seeing.

BOL to you Mr. Potvin!

Gndewar-
Yea the rangers have played a game less but that's not what really matters. The kings have played more because of the many over times they were part of

So I see your point about the rangers team speed, again i don't agree (the ducks and hawks had plenty of speed) but doesn't the kings physical style worry you?? I mean look at the hit disparity in your first post. Add to that, the flyers were the most physical team they faced in the playoffs and by all account would have probably lost had mason been healthy from game 1. But aside from that, they struggled quite a bit with the flyers. Just a couple thoughts I had and wanted to see your response...