Carl Hagelin gets loose for breakaway goal (GIF)

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /
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A bounce here. A lucky break there. When it comes to championships, the difference between triumph and heartbreak so often comes down to the minutiae. We are just in game one of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals between the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings and it already looks like it will come down to the little things.

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To consider another sport for a moment, just think how different things could have been for the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs if Chris Bosh hadn’t tipped that offensive rebound out to Ray Allen for a corner three-pointer. The little things have a huge impact.

That brings us to this breakaway goal from the speedy Carl Hagelin of the New York Rangers. He got loose thanks to the fact that he has absolute burners. But as you’ll see below, Hagelin was denied on the initial shot by Kings’ goaltender Jonathan Quick. Unfortunately for the Kings, the puck kicked right over to the trailing Slava Voynov, off his skate and into the net.

Carl_Hagelin
@ZProphet_MMA /

This was the second breakaway goal of the opening period for the Rangers, though the first one was bit more conventional in how it crossed the line. The Rangers were flying high at that point. That was short-lived, however. The Kings went on to score two unanswered goals of their own to tie things up.

If early returns are any indication, this is shaping up to be a great series.