Los Angeles Kings Knock Off Blackhawks, Head To Finals

The New York Rangers finally know who they’ll meet in the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals.

After a back-and-forth contest, featuring plenty of ties and momentum swings, the Los Angeles Kings knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 in OT to move on to play the Rangers. Tyler Toffoli tipped in a shot from the point to send the Kings to the finals.

Game 1 will be on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

The first period saw a flurry of scoring from both squads. The Blackhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Brandon Saad and captain Jonathan Toews. Los Angeles would tie it with two unanswered goals by Jeff Carter and Justin Williams.

Just 12 seconds later, Patrick Sharp put Chicago back on top with a goal that took a fortuitous bounce over Jonathan Quick‘s pad.

The two teams traded goals in the second stanza on a tally by Toffoli and a response by Sharp, his second of game.

Marian Gaborik tied things up in the third period to send Game 7 into overtime.

After a few chances by both teams, Alec Martinez flung a shot toward the net and Toffoli tipped it past Corey Crawford for the game-winner.

This series between Chicago and Los Angeles was intense and nail-biting from the start. It was only fitting that it would end in overtime in a Game 7.

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