Story highlights
The winning goal was scored in the second overtime period
Going into the game, the Kings led the series 3-1
It's the second Stanley Cup for the Kings in 3 seasons
Mayors of L.A., New York wager on outcome
The Los Angeles Kings scored in double overtime Friday night, defeating the New York Rangers 3-2 and winning their second Stanley Cup in three years.
Alec Martinez slapped in the winning goal and the National Hockey League’s championship trophy went to the Kings after a thrilling Game 5 at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The Kings had to work hard to claim the prize.
Los Angeles took an early lead with a goal by Justin Williams, but the Rangers battled back and tied it with a power-play goal by Chris Kreider late in the second period. Brian Boyle scored again for the Rangers minutes later, making the score 2-1 New York.
The Kings tied it 2-2 in the third period with a power-play goal by Marian Gaborik. The crowd chanted “We want the cup” as the game headed down the stretch of regulation time.
The scrappy Rangers took only one game in the series, a 2-1 victory Wednesday in New York.
Los Angeles netted its first Stanley Cup in 2012 by defeating the New Jersey Devils. That title ended decades of futility for a franchise struggling for success in a sport typically associated with frigid temperatures and icy lakes.
Their run over the past couple years has given the Kings attention and traction with a metropolitan fan base dominated by the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, baseball’s Dodgers and Angels, and football and basketball at UCLA and the University of Southern California.
NYC mayor to appear on Kimmel to honor bet
A Monday victory parade is planned in downtown Los Angeles, according to Mayor Eric Garcetti. “We all feel tremendous pride today,” Garcetti said after the win. “Our Kings of the ice were once considered underdogs. But with two Stanley Cup wins in three years, they have proved they are Kings of the game.”
The first-term mayor will also get to revel in watching a fellow rookie – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio – hold up his end of a bet the two city chiefs made on the series.
De Blasio announced before the series that if the Rangers lost, he would perform Randy Newman’s “I love LA” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Had the Kings lost, Garcetti would have had to have performed Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” on the ABC late-night program, according to a de Blasio press release.
The New York mayor is also on the hook for supplying Kimmel’s studio audience in Los Angeles with hot dogs from Gray’s Papaya, a Big Apple landmark.
