Stanley Cup finals: New York Rangers 2-3 Los Angeles Kings – as it happened!

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 17:32, first overtime

St Louis passes across the bow of Quick but nobody home.

Zuccarello with space and he shoots high and wide for New York! So there's some life there.

Now Stepan with a shot that Quick turns aside...

Yup. Still can't believe Carter didn't score.

Now we know how Henrik Lundvist got ready for the Kings.

Inhuman?

Yeah, inhuman. I can't believe Carter didn't score there.

We learn this is the third year in a row that the Stanley Cup Finals begin with an overtime game, whatever that means.

The Rangers will have to get out of this funk if they are to have a chance - they were outshot 20-3 in the period.

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

Toffoli skating down the far side, shoots, stick save Lundvist! That's 18 shots this period.

Now Boyle snaps the stick of King on a face-off, and this game wind down with an LA power play! LA are 0-3 tonight with a man advantage.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 2:35, 3rd period

Lewis gets the puck on net, and the rebound was loose but the Kings couldn't jump on it. Now Mitchell has a crack at it, and another save, this time with the pad! New York are getting blown out with anyone else in net tonight.

That's a thought being shared by Rangers fans everywhere right now.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 5:14, 3rd period

Martinez snaps high and wide. Brassard then with a shot from beyond the blueline, there's a harmless rebound. The Rangers look out of sync offensively right now, which comes as no surprise after being outshot in the period 14-1.

Toffoli has Lundvist down around the crease but he loses the puck!

Rangers fans swallow hard.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 8:21, 3rd period

Martin St. Louis has a shot at Quick, off his shoulder on a mini-break, ending the 11:58 shot drought by New York.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 9:39, 3rd period

Marc Staal winds up and fires wide from the point. Then the four-on-four is over, and the Hagelin shot I mentioned earlier wasn't awarded by the scorer, that means the Rangers haven't registered a shot yet an we are more than half way through the third period.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 11:51, 3rd period

Penalty! Two of them! Rick Nash and Drew Doughty are going - the latter for diving/unsportsmanlike conduct, Nash for holding. Sham on that Doughty...

That means we have some wide-open four-on-four hockey for two minutes, and all of that open ice favors the speed of the Rangers.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 12:46, 3rd period

Mitchell with a shot, but Lundvist saves again! Then a kick save on a shot by Carter, easy for Henrik, who has saved eight shots this period - Quick has just one save in the frame, and it comes on a shot from Hagelin.

Now Mitchell winds up and fires, another save! This time with the glove!

He is making it look easy right now. The period is flying by here

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 15:07, 3rd period

Voynov from the point - it's blocked. The Rangers clear the zone.

"Go Kings Go!" is cheered as LA try to make something of this power play but it's one the Rangers survive - no shots at all - LA are 0-3 with a man advantage tonight.

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Recap

A good second period for LA.

They slowed the game down some as the contest got more physical, that's a winning formula for the Kings.

To recap, New York went up 2-0 on goals from Benoit Pouliot and Hagelin (shorthanded), then Kyle Clifford scored at the end of the first period before Drew Doughty put the puck through his legs and past Lundqvist to tie it up in the second.

Don Zimmer

The baseball lifer who spent over six decades in the game and was adored by fans has died at 83. It has nothing to do with hockey but has to be mentioned.

Meanwhile in New York...

Tremendous shot.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 1:35, 2nd period

Nash is skating behind the net, stickhandling, finding room, firing, and it's blocked by Trevor Lewis. Now a penalty - Mike Richards stick is too high, but Derick Brassard puts on a touch of a performance on his way down to the ice. Meanwhile Drew Doughty is mad because he thinks he got the but end of the stick to the face from Kreider.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 4:40, 2nd period

Stalman crushes Toffoli on the boards before Clifford is able to catch up with Hagelin and take the speedy Swede down with a back check. So some physical play here as the second period winds down.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 5:57, 2nd period

Big shot from the nearside point by Voynov, save by Lundqvist! Rebound shots are blocked by the Rangers defense as they try to hold down this Kings rush!

Comeback Kings

The Kings were down two goals twice to the Blackhawks last series and were able to comeback and win. I don't think it's going out on a limb to say just how important the next goal will be.

Well we're trying to spend as much time as we can in their end and sooner or later there will be, you know, there will be a one-on-one breakdown and maybe we can take the puck to the net.

-Alain Vigneault in-game NBC interview moments ago.

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 9:33, 2nd period

Trevor Lewis, blazing with the puck! He's all alone, shakes, bakes, and over skates the net! Another opportunity for LA!

Rangers 2-2 Kings, 11:00, 2nd period

Kings on the power play. Carter finds Voynov at the point - his shot is blocked. Martinez with a shot, and that's blocked! Penalty over, but a clear shift in momentum here as the teams get together for a little extra curricular activity in front of Lundvist.

Rangers 2-1 Kings, 13:50, 2nd period

Stepan, across to St Louis and he doesn't get good wood on the shot from center, his little floater is over the net as LA kill the penalty. Now Muzzin, fresh out of the box, flicks it into the chest of Lundqvist and he holds on! Lundvist has allowed few rebounds tonight.

Rangers 2-1 Kings, 16:10, 2nd period

Pouliot leaves it for Zuccarello who shoots it wide. Rangers, controlling the play here early. Dorsett tries to stuff it in and he's denied.

Then a two-on-one - Trevor Lewis fires and is wide!

Now Jake Muzzin goes for interfering with Rick Nash. New York on the power play!

Bob Tolley is back with some advice for the Kings:

LA have to start hitting the way they did with Chicago. If they make this physical, NYR will struggle.

Agreed, but you can't hit what you can't catch...

New York has been fully transformed into a Rangers town. There are some 10,000 out at Bryant Park right now watching this game on a big screen. No wonder "Games 3 and 4 in New York have sold on the site for a median price of $1,235 and $1,329 apiece" according to ESPN. It will now cost you more to go to watch Stanley Cup hockey at Madison Square Garden than to go to the Super Bowl this year.

Not only are the Rangers fast, but the Kings were sloppy, turning over the puck several times - actually they gave it away eight times to the Blueshirts two. Five days off for New York seems to be paying off rather than rusting their skates.

Rangers 0-0 Kings, 2:46, 1st period

St Louis passes across the crease, it flies by Quick - but Dominic Moore isn't ready for the pass - he had a lot of net to play with. That could have been 3-0!

Rangers 0-0 Kings, 5:16, 1st period

Tanner Pearson is tripped by Zuccarello and the Kings have a power play.

Rangers 0-0 Kings, 7:21, 1st period

Kreider with a pass behind the net in the direction goes off the skate of Stepan and Quick is able to cover up. Funny play there, that had a shot to go in - the Kings had a lot of odd bounces vs Chicago in Game 7...

They got a lot of energy right now, we got to make sure we make the good play.

Kings head coach Darryl Sutter, NBC in-game interview

Rangers 0-0 Kings, 8:33, 1st period

The penalty is killed but the best Rangers chances come at even strength, seconds after it expired. Mats Zuccarello with back-to-back shots, getting his own rebound and then trying to stuff it in from behind the net! Quick is sharp, no dice for the forward from Norway. The Rangers have evened up the shot total over the last few minutes and making some progress with the puck.

Rangers 0-0 Kings, 10:12, 1st period

Save number eight for Lundvist already - this time he holds onto a shot to the chest from Slava Voynov. The King only saw 18 shots in all of Game 6 vs Montreal on Thursday.

Then three straight saves by Quick, the third is a tremendous stop off the stick of Martin St Louis while moving to his right! And there's a penalty - Alec Martinez goes for hooking Carl Hagelin and the Rangers have the first power play of the series.

Rangers 0-0 Kings, 12:35, 1st period

Brad Richards with a shot from beyond his blue line is into the glove of Quick. So far the Kings are outshooting New York 7-4.

Rangers 0-0 Kings, 14:26, 1st period

Muzzin from close range - kick save by Lundqvist! That's a huge play early, he had a lot of net to work with.

Rangers 0-0 Kings, 14:57, 1st period

The Rangers also have their chances - earlier Rick Nash with a slapshot saved by Quick.

Now Antrol Stralman with a little wrist shot at Jonathan Quick and he makes the save and holds on. Quick looks good.

Rangers 0-0 Kings, 17:03, 1st period

Jeff Carter with a shot to warm up The King, he pushes it aside. Then Alec Martinez, who had the overtime winner on Sunday vs Chicago has a turn around shot from the near side above the circle, another save. Early action here at Staples!

Ceremonial Puck Drop

It's Wayne Gretzky himself, who played for both of these franchises, which makes him a sensible choice.

National Anthem

It's the multi-platinum Tenors delivering the Star Spangled Banner. It's OK. Servicable. 7/10.

Just get our forecheck going early, that really is a staple of our hockey team. And we have to get it going early. We have to get pucks in deep and limit the turnovers.

-Kings forward Mike Richards speaking to NBC TV in the US.

Let's start a shift at a time here, we've been waiting for this for a long time here.

-Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault addressing his team moments ago.

Predictions II

Well, those who know me know I really prefer to not make predictions because it's basically a no-win. But, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I think the Rangers have a shot to win this series, but they will need absolutely everything to go right, and for Lundqvist to be even better, if that's even possible. But I'll say Kings in six, because it's a huge ask, LA are just loaded with stars.

What are your series predictions? Tweet them over to me @lengeldavid or send them old fashioned way, via email at david.lengel@theguardian.com.

Support

Carmelo Anthony, who may or may not return to Madison Square Garden next season, at least as a New York Knick, gives a shout out to the other team in MSG.

Kings come home

This franchise has come a long way since they were wearing purple, before Wayne Gretzky came over from Edmonton to spread the gospel of ice hockey in Southern California.

Predictions

Well, it's that time, and Bob Tolley from Chipping Norton has one. He likes the Kings 4-1 over the Rangers to win their second Stanley Cup in three seasons. He's also nice enough to lay out some thoughts on the series.

There are a few intangibles for the NYR....

• 1. Henrik.
  
• 2. St. Louis.
  
• 3. Moore.
  
• 4. Duplicating their defensive effort in game six against Les Habs.
  

I would recommend they run Quick early and try to throw him off his form because on paper the Kings are a much better team.

Marian Gaborik

The one-time Ranger fan favorite hit hard times on his way out of town, losing his scoring touch and then the support of the fans. He was traded for three players playing roles on this team on April of 2013 - Derek Dorsett, Derick Brassard and John Moore, who is currently suspended for a late hit made in Game 6 in Montreal but can return on Saturday for Game 2. It should certainly be interesting when he returns to the not so friendly confines of Madison Square Garden when the series shifts to New York. He's been great in LA, a key component for the Kings, scoring 19 points in 21 games these playoffs.

NY-LA

It's hard to believe but it's been 33 years in fact since professional teams from New York and Los Angeles met in the finals of a major league. In 1981, the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the baseball World Series. In basketball, you have to go back to the Lakers/Knicks series of 1973 - that was the last time the Knickerbockers actually won an NBA title. It never happened in the NFL and won't anytime soon - the city doesn't have a team, which is kind of amazing when you think about it.

Meanwhile, the two mayors have a bet on the Stanley Cup Finals. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti to perform New York, New York on live TV if Rangers beat Kings – but if the Kings win, NYC Mayor Bill deBlasio will have to croon. Read all about it here.