Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty celebrates his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period of Game 3 of the Western Conference finals of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs in Los Angeles, Saturday, May 24, 2014.The Associated Press
On the verge of winning the Stanley Cup, Drew Doughty remembers what it was like facing the same 3-0 hole the Rangers have now when the Kings faced the Sharks in the first round.
What he recalled does not reflect kindly on the likes of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle.
"Once we won that first game of the San Jose series, we kind of had a feeling we were going to come back and win that series," Doughty said Wednesday several hours before Game 4 of the final. "And you could see it in their eyes and their team and their captains and leaders that they were worried about us coming back. So we don't want to give these guys any life."
As much as Doughty was complimenting his team for putting fear into the Sharks, it certainly can be construed as a shot at a core group that will more than likely see some changes after yet another playoff disappointment.
On Tuesday, coach Darryl Sutter pointed all the way back to Game 1 for the seeds of the Kings' comeback against the Sharks.
"We could see we're not a team somebody says, go away, and we go away," Sutter said. "We're a team that's going to respond."
Even when the Kings fell behind three games to none, Sutter thought it would all come together.
"I saw that in period one of Game 3," he said. "We knew we were winning the series; it just took a little bit longer."
The Rangers gave up a goal with 0.7 seconds left in the first period of Game 3 in the final and seemed to do little in the way of foreshadowing a similar comeback.