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Captain clutch: Brown scores OT winner, Kings take Game 2

KingsWin2

LOS ANGELES -- When the Kings needed someone to step up, the captain answered the call.

Dustin Brown scored the winner 10:26 into the second overtime on Saturday night, tipping home a Willie Mitchell point shot to give the Kings a 5-4 win over the New York Rangers and two games to none lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

For Brown, the goal capped off one of his most emphatic performances of the postseason. He led all Kings forwards with six hits and finished with over 26 minutes of ice time, his highest total of the playoffs. The goal occurred during the second straight OT game played between the Rangers and Kings; it also marked the first time in NHL history that three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals opened with a pair of overtime games (L.A. and New Jersey went to extra time twice in 2012; the Bruins and ‘Hawks did it last year as well.)

Tonight’s game had plenty more to offer than just Brown’s OT heroics, however. Like in Game 1, both Los Angeles and New York engaged in an entertaining opening 60 minutes that featured a number of scoring chances.

And just like in Game 1, the Rangers couldn’t hold onto a two-goal lead.

Check that -- the Rangers couldn’t hold onto three two-goal leads.

New York raced out to its first in the opening period -- Ryan McDonagh opened the scoring at the 10:48 mark, and Mats Zuccarello made it 2-0 eight minutes later when he scored his fifth of the playoffs.

In the second period, L.A. wasted little time erasing the deficit.

The Kings cut the lead to one just 1:46 in, when Jarret Stoll capitalized on a bad Brad Richards turnover and some sloppy defensive zone work from New York. Ten minutes later, the Rangers restored their two-goal advantage when Martin St. Louis scored on his power play -- the first Blueshirts goal with the man advantage this series -- but the Kings replied almost immediately when Willie Mitchell scored his team’s first power play goal of the Stanley Cup Final at the 14:39 mark.

Eleven seconds after Mitchell scored, the Rangers took advantage of some poor Jonathan Quick puck handling (Mitchell’s wasn’t great either). Derick Brassard scored, giving New York a 4-2 lead they’d carry into the third period.

Down a pair of goals -- and stop us if you’ve heard this one before -- the Kings found a way to claw back.

It began with the most questionable and controversial goal of the series, as Dwight King appeared to interfere with Henrik Lundqvist while tipping home Matt Greene’s point shot. Lundqvist was livid following the goal, protesting that King was camped out in his crease; adding to the frustration was that, earlier in the game, the Rangers were whistled on a goalie interference penalty when Benoit Pouliot tangled with Jonathan Quick.

Kings’s goal stood, however, and that seemed to give L.A. the momentum it needed. Marian Gaborik snapped home his NHL-best 13th of the playoffs at the 7:36 mark, which capped the regulation scoring and sent the teams into overtime.

In the extra frames, both goalies performed well. Lundqvist stopped 11 of 12 shots to finish with 39 saves overall; Quick was perfect on all nine shots faced to finish with 34 saves on the night.

Looking ahead, it’ll be interesting to see how the Rangers respond to a second disappointing loss. They’ve now blown four two-goal leads in two games against the Kings and dropped a pair of OT defeats. For a team that will need to win at least one game at Staples to capture the Stanley Cup, those missed opportunities will loom large.

For the Kings...well, what more can be said? This team has shown remarkable resilience all postseason and did it again tonight, mounting a series of comebacks while looking completely unfazed by the prospect of falling behind. The Kings have proven to be a tough out all spring, and that’s continued through the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final.