Eastern Conference Finals 2012: Long Rangers vs. Devils Series Gives Kings Edge

The longer it takes the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils to play out the Eastern Conference Finals, the stronger the Los Angeles Kings' stake to their first-ever Stanley Cup championship becomes.

These two tri-state rivals will cross the Hudson River again for Game 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark on Friday, with the Devils up 3-2 in the series.

So far, the Blueshirts and the Devils have done nothing, if not bludgeon each other physically, as well as emotionally, to more than make up for the physical toll that usually comes with traveling to and fro during a postseason series.

Wednesday night's wild win for New Jersey serves as a perfect example. The Devils dashed out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, forcing the Rangers to play catchup in front of an uneasy crowd at Madison Square Garden.

But catch up they did, thanks to scores by Brandon Prust in the first, Ryan Callahan in the second and Marian Gaborik in the third period.

Then, just when all the momentum appeared to be on New York's side—and you didn't think the bizarro goal-tending by Henrik Lundqvist could get any worse—New Jersey recaptured the lead with 4:24 left to play.

Ilya Kovalchuk applied the forecheck to Michael Del Zotto, freeing Stephen Gionta for a pass to Ryan Carter, who smacked the puck past King Henrik and into the Rangers' net.

An empty-netter by Zach Parise with 32 seconds left sealed the deal for the Devils, though both teams left the arena spent in nearly every way imaginable.

Meanwhile, back in L.A., the Kings were recovering from a hard-fought Game 5 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes to close out the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night.

Whatever nicks, cuts, bumps and bruises the Kings picked up at Jobing.com Arena can and will be patched up during the eight-day layoff between games. 

And it's not as though the Kings haven't gotten plenty of rest already in these playoffs. Winning 12 out of 14 games has afforded L.A. the luxury of a six-day break after beating the Vancouver Canucks in five games in the opening round, and a week-long layoff following a sweep of the St. Louis Blues.

Back on the East Coast, the Rangers have already played 19 games with no break lasting longer than three days, while the Devils have competed in 17 of their own; though, they've at least had a six-day break as reward for taking out the Philadelphia Flyers in five.

Fatigue may well have been a factor in Game 5. Between poor play between the pipes by Lundqvist and Martin Brodeur, the Devils fumbling away a three-goal lead and Brad Richards firing the puck at his own net, both teams exhibited evidence of exhaustion from what's been a nasty, physical series.

That won't likely change after Game 6, either.

The Rangers may be shot from what happened on Wednesday, though that won't likely stop them from leaving it all out on the ice in an elimination game against their blood rivals.

A win for New York would force a Game 7 on Sunday—the Blueshirts' third of the postseason—and leave just one full free day before the start of the Stanley Cup Finals on Tuesday.

Should the Devils win, they'll at least have the benefit of a full Memorial Day weekend to rest their weary heads and achy joints before facing L.A.

Albeit, after a clincher, that will take every ounce of energy in their bodies to secure.

At least, whoever comes out from this melee will get to open the playoffs at home.

Then again, that might be more of a curse than a blessing; the Kings have won a record eight playoff road games in a row, 10 if you include the last postseason.

Either way, it's good to be the Kings, whose inordinate rest and emergent depth should leave them plenty fresh to finish off their miraculous run with the Stanley Cup in hand.

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