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Vigneault: Rangers won’t win with their ‘B’ game

2014 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game One

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 04: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers talks with the media after the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Rangers 3-2 in overtime during Game One of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Staples Center on June 4, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)

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The New York Rangers played a tough and tight Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings. A 3-2 overtime loss puts them in a hole to start the series, however, and improvements have to be made.

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault has started breaking down his team’s performance in Game 1 and right away he knows he’s dealing with an entirely different type of team in the Kings -- one he knows they can’t afford to be off their game against.

“One thing that’s real evident to me, and it should be to our whole group, is we’re not going to beat this team if we do not all bring our ‘A’ game,” Vigneault said. “It is that strong of an opponent that we’re playing against.

“We had (Henrik Lundqvist) that brought his ‘A’ game last night. We had a couple guys. I don’t want to name who I think brought their ‘A’ game. But our ‘B’ game won’t do it. We’re not going to win if we bring our ‘B’ game to the table.”

Lundqvist stopped 40 shots in the Game 1 loss and was beat in overtime by a Justin Williams snapshot following a turnover by defenseman Dan Girardi. Mistakes like that can’t be made against any team, never mind the Kings.

“They’re one of the best teams I’ve seen in a long time,” Vigneault said. “Areas to exploit, they don’t jump out at you. We’re going to have to be better than we were.”

If the Rangers can clean things up and generate more shots late in the game (L.A. outshot New York 20-3 in the third period) that will go a long way towards possibly sending the series to New York tied up.

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