Stanley Cup Finals: Los Angeles Kings 1-2 New York Rangers - as it happend

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 00:24, 3rd period

A hand pass by the Kings who were controlling the puck with the extra skater. Now there is a face off at center ice and that means Quick is back in net.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 1:02, 3rd period

It was Stepan who swatted the puck off the line, an incredible play!

The net is empty now! Nash takes a shot at it but it's wide and a faceoff in the New York zone coming up.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 1:11, 3rd period

Martinez shoots - Pearson redirects - where's the puck? No whistle - chaos in front of the net! Finally the ref stops play - but the puck is just inches in front of the goal line! No one had it, but play was stopped!! The Kings are upset of course, but in the end there is no goal!

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 1:54, 3rd period

Kings controlling, making that final push. A puck bounces to the net but Lundqvist turns the puck away.

Now a scramble in front of the Rangers net! Lewis is looking for the puck near Lundqvist but the Swede finds it and holds on!

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 2:59, 3rd period

Hagelin is taken down by Brown at the Kings goal line but there's no way any ref is calling that.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 3:53, 3rd period

Mitchell winds up and it hits Girardi in his ass, which beats just about any alternative.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 4:58, 3rd period

Sweat is dripping off the mask of Jonathan Quick but its hard to understand why - he's basically had the period off.

But here's a Kings giveaway in neutral ice - Martin St Louis from the near point, and Quick makes the stab, holding on.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 5:24, 3rd period

That "Let's Go Rangers!" chant is as loud as it has been all night long. Are the home crowd gaining that lost condifence?

The puck is tipped into the bench stopping play as we approach the five minute mark of the third period in a potential Cup clinching game, and that means goosebumps.

Joe has been all over Girardi for awhile, and he may have good reason.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 7:37, 3rd period

We are under half way through and the Rangers are doing everything they can this period to keep the Stanley Cup in the box. That effort does not include a shot - they still have none, which is amazing - that's how good the Kings have been. Somehow Los Angeles have not scored.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 9:47, 3rd period

The Rangers are trying to muster up some offense and give Lundqvist a break. Stralman has a shot, then there's a rebound but Quick has it and play is stopped!

No kidding - Gaborik is behind the ice and is nailed, but gets a pass off to Toffoli who fires and is saved once again by Lundvist! That's eight shots for LA now!

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 11:14, 3rd period

Doughty fires into the chest of Lundvist but the Rangers have the rebound and clear the zone!

Deep breaths at Madison Square Garden.

A little something from New York - Brad Richards a backhanded shot in front of the net goes wide. But the Kings are relentless, and they come right back - Clifford a shot from the far boards, turned away by Lundvist!

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 13:36, 3rd period

The Rangers are being dominated right now and everyone in the building knows it.

Still, New York hold on, but it's like there are seven Kings out there!

Aother chance - Pearson skating towards the center of the ice - he winds up shy of the blue line, fires, and it's into the chest of Lundqvist who holds on! LA are now outshooting the Rangers 32-18, and it feels like a matter of time before the Kings hit pay-ice.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 16:02, 3rd period

The crowd muster up a series of "Let-s Go-Rangers!" chants, but you can almost hear the gulps in between renditions. The Kings have an awful lot of the puck during the first five minutes.

Now another chance for LA - off the faceoff - Brown gets the puck behind the pack, he's in front of the net but fires into the chest of Lundqvist!

Danger lurks everywhere for New York.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 17:18, 3rd period

The Rangers are under siege early - Kopitar has a shot on net - Lundvist loses his stick during the save but recovers. Then Alec Martinez with a shot wide!

I mean, come on. There is no way LA can pull that trick for a fourth time in five games right?

Here's the goal from Dustin Brown which sliced another Rangers lead in half...third period hockey coming up shortly.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, end of 2nd period

And that will do it for a period in which the Rangers took a fifth two goal lead of the series and nearly relinquished it, again. Don't worry, there's still time.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 0:26 2nd period

The New York penalty is over.

Carter skating with an incredible burst of speed - he whips to the net, makes a move on Lundvist - the Swede is down, Carter, going wide, shoots low towards the far corner, but a fully extended Lundvist is able to make the save!

Incredible speed from Carter there and a very important stop from King Henrik.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 2:53, 2nd period

New York are solid on the kill thus far - Williams with a shot from the near circle. Lundqvist bobbles it momentarily but he holds on. Under 20 seconds left in the LA man advantage.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 4:22, 2nd period

Williams sets up Stroll and he shoots wide of the net. More pressure from LA, a scuffle behind the net and Dominic Williams cross-checks King and he will go to the box.

That is not good timing for New York. Power play LA.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 5:16, 2nd period

Off the faceoff, Pearson has the puck in front of the net, he can't much behind his shot and Lundqvist has it, covering up.

Then Jeff Carter shoots, it's deflected towards Toffoli but he's taken down by Boyle - no penalty.

The Kings are a coming...can NY hold on?

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 5:51, 2nd period

Gaborik with a shot at the circle - stick save Lundqvist! Now Kreider with a hit on Clifford. But back come the Kings - Mike Richards at the other end, winding up, firing, and Lundqvist has it - it's a glove save and he holds on!

The Kings are outshooting New York 23-17 but the Rangers are holding on, for now...

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 7:09, 2nd period

Zucarrello with a wrap around - save Quick! Zuccarello has the rebound and he shoots high over the net! Huge chance from new York there!

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 7:52, 2nd period

Here comes Pearson, flying down the far boards - Staal is on him but he still gets a chance on net that Lundqvist handles, but that's incredible stick work from the Kings forward.

Kings 1-2 Rangers, 9:56, 2nd period

Here come the Kings again! LA have multiple chances on net! Carter is charging the net but Lundqvist pokes it away! Pearson is in front of the net but can't get a shot off - then Toffoli has a shot blocked!

Chaos but no goal! A serious gut check for the Rangers here.

So here we are again - LA are down two goals, which presumably means the Kings have the Rangers right where they want them.

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 15:02, 2nd period

Scramble in front of the Kings net! Nash is there, Moore is there - the puck is loose but the stick of Quick pokes the puck away and he somehow denies New York a second goal! Incredible play from Quick here this period!

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 15:48, 2nd period

Sloppy power play from New York, no shots 1:30 in - but give LA credit - they've carried the puck plenty down a man.

Moore with a big shot, and a save by the glove of Quick! No rebound!

Then a scrap in front of the net! Pouliot and Brassard go to the box and we'll have 4-4 in eight seconds when the NYR power play expires.

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 17:46, 2nd period

Kreider shoots from the far point - it's off the pad of Quick who kicks it away.

Back come the Kings - Williams from the far boards feeds a trailing Stroll and his shot is saved by Lundvist! End to end here!

Now a penalty - Willie Mitchell is back in the box, this time for hooking Boyle. Power play for New York coming up.

We got A-C-T...

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 19:04, 2nd period

Justin Williams finds Marian Gaborik is flying down the near side - he fires from mid-circle and hits the crossbar!!! Wow, that was fast out of the gate from LA!

Catching a break

It was that close...

Coming back

Sports fans know that coming back from a 3-0 series deficit is not something that happens very often. In fact, it's happened five times, four in the NHL and once in Major League Baseball. Here's a look courtesy of our favourite wikipedia:

• 1942 Stanley Cup when the Toronto Maple Leafs came back and won four straight over the Detroit Red Wings

• 1975 Stanley Cup quarterfinals when the New York Islanders came back and won four straight over the Pittsburgh Penguins

• 2004 American League Championship Series when the Boston Red Sox came back and won four straight over the New York Yankees

• 2010 Stanley Cup conference semifinals when the Philadelphia Flyers came back and won four straight, winning the fourth game 4-3 after being down by a score of 0-3 to the Boston Bruins

• 2014 Stanley Cup conference quarterfinals when the Los Angeles Kings came back and won four straight over the San Jose Sharks.
  

The Rangers goal

It's the home team on top - here is a look at how they took the lead.

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 1:21, 1st period

Marian Gaborik has 13 goals these playoffs - his shot is deflected up and into the stands. LA coach Darryl Sutter admits they are nowhere near a second title in three seasons without him.

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 2:21, 1st period

Tyler Toffoli taks a shot at Lundqvist following a Rangers turnover but it's easy for Lundqvist who holds on.

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 3:18, 1st period

The Rangers kill the penalty - then there's St Louis with a shot at Quick but his stick breaks.

Williams hits a chopper towards Lundqvist who has it in his glove and holds on.

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 7:41, 1st period

Alec Martinez shoots and the puck is past Lundqvist - the puck is sliding towards the goal line, it's on the goal line - but here comes Stralman who clears the puck! Martinez thought it was in, but replays confirm it wasn't! It could not get any closer, we're talking millimeters here.

It's a hard fought game, they're getting pucks deep and making it difficult to break out but we've spent some quality time in their end and we've got to continue.

Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault speaking to NBC TV

Now Mats Zuccarello, under pressure from Anze Kopitar lifts the puck out of play on purpose - that's not allowed - power play coming up for LA.

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 8:41, 1st period

Now Williams is down, this time its Ryan McDonagh, who has had a great playoffs for the Rangers, who are matching the Kings brutality with some physical play of their own right now - just as Bob Tolley said they needed to do.

Kings 0-1 Rangers, 10:00, 1st period

Anton Stralman hip checks Doughty and if you're a Rangers fan you have got to love this guy - physical, scrappy, and seems to be the one who finds the Kings big shots with his body. New York need more hits like that.

Bob Tolley chimes in:

Apparently the NYR were in a bad way during yesterday's practice. Going through the motions but an incredibly deflated group. Even Vignault was decidely downbeat. They need special teams to step up... Nash needs to make an impact. Also the Blueshirts need to get physical, play with desperation. Problem is L.A. is just too strong a team to contain for three periods (or more) and are getting contributions from practically everybody... from their captain to a fourth line grinder.

Well, it wasn't Nash who got the goal but the Rangers are up, and nothing lifts spirits like a puck in the back of the net.

Moore and Brassard get the assists on the opening strike from New York.

Kings 0-0 Rangers, 13:03, 1st period

Richards has a clear path to the net and he semi-fans on it, can't lift the puck - and Quick has it. Richards and Nash are two players for New York taking a lot of heat for not finding the goal. Now there are 30 seconds left in the man advantage.

Kings 0-0 Rangers, 14:37, 1st period

Here is Carl Hagelin who throws one at net - there's a rebound but then Quick pounces on it! Nash was hanging around the net and helped foster the opportunity - their first shot of the night, but really, Nash must score.

Now we have our first penalty - Willie Mitchell high sticks Dorsett and the Rangers have a chance to get on the board here.

Kings 0-0 Rangers, 15:37, 1st period

So far nothing from New York to get the Garden crowd into this game.

Pouliot's shot is over the crossbar and off the glass.

Kings 0-0 Rangers, 17:11, 1st period

Muzzin shoots from the far point - that's wide!

Then Mitchell fires and Dorsett is there to keep it from reaching Lundqvist.

It's a test of focus, we've just got to focus in the immediate task at hand, that's having a good start to this game, things we can control, things like our effort.

- Rangers forward Dominic Moore to NBC TV in the US

Meanwhile John Amirante is back to sing the National Anthem, as he does. We're moments away.

Daniel Carcillo

You may remember the Rangers forward who was suspended for 10 games after elbowing a linesman in the Eastern Conference Finals vs Montreal in Game 3. That suspension was eventually reduced to six games, and Carcillo is eligible to return tonight. However, Alain Vigneault elected to stick with Derek Dorsett, which is a good move if you ask me - Dorsett has played well enough to remain in the lineup.

Here's a look at the incident:

Predictions

Well, I had the Rangers 4-1 in Game 3, and that didn't quite work out the way I had envisioned. The good news is there's another shot at it, so here we go:

I predict Jonathan Quick, who destroyed New York on Monday, will make a mistake early, and the Rangers go bonkers, flying back to LA for a Game 5 after a 6-2 victory. Yeah, that's right - 6-2.

It's not to late to get yours in - tweet a prediction to @lengeldavid or email to david.lengel@theguardian.com

Highlights

There were very few for New York in Game 3, and a bunch for the Kings. ICYMI, here's the footage to prove it. I also recommend reading our own review of the Monday game from our hockey correspondent Colin Horgan.