Stanley Cup Final: Ranking Non-Chicago Blackhawks Series In Salary Cap Era

Jan 31, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (35) makes a save against Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) during the second period at the PPG PAINTS Arena. The Penguins won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

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No. 6: Los Angeles Kings vs. New York Rangers (2014)

This one ranks so low because the “real” Stanley Cup Final took place in the Western Conference finals. Everyone seemed to know it, and it wound up severely diluting the hype and interest surrounding this series.

And that wasn’t fair to the Rangers, considering they managed to get three of these five games to overtime (though they lost all of them). But it was essentially considered the Kings against Henrik Lundqvist, and the Rangers ultimately couldn’t prove that wrong.

In an interesting twist, however, the Rangers actually scored the first two goals in three separate games (including their only series win, a 2-1 Game 4 result). But it was almost like, back in 2012, when the Kings were playing with their food in the Devils. They knew they were the better team, and they eventually prevailed.