The Chicago Blackhawks are taking on the Los Angeles Kings for the second time this season. The first was a 3-1 victory for LA at the United Center on October 26th. Both teams have come a long way since then.
The Blackhawks dropped their most recent game in a shootout to the Vegas Golden Knights, but this game against the Kings is their chance to make it a three-game point streak.
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The Blackhawks are one point (28) below the playoff line with a record of 11-9-6. Los Angeles is in third place in the Pacific Division with a 12-7-7 record for 31 points. It is tight on the bubble in both Western Conference divisions.
Scouting Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Kings have been one of the best teams in the Western Conference over the last handful of years, but they haven’t won a playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014. Like the Blackhawks, they want to end this type of drought soon.
LA has lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round in each of the last four seasons. This year is all about finding a way to get it done, no matter who is in their way. That includes the Blackhawks on Thursday night.
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Moore – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Armia
Kuzmenko – Danault – Laferriere
Malott – Turcotte – Perry
Anderson – Edmundson
Dumoulin – Clarke
Moverare – Ceci
Kuemper
Forsberg
Everything to do with the Los Angeles Kings is centered around their captain, Anze Kopitar. He has been their franchise player for his entire career, which is coming to an end with the conclusion of this season.
Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield, and Kevin Fiala all have the ceiling of stars in the NHL and can make a difference in any game. Their depth is great, led by former Blackhawks center Philipp Danault, who is one of the best checking centers you’ll find.
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Future Hall of Famer Drew Doughty is injured, which leaves a hole in Los Angeles’ defense, but this group has mostly gotten the job done this year.
In goal, Darcy Kuemper is their main guy, and he’s been excellent during his entire tenure there. He has a Stanley Cup ring as a starter, so there is plenty of pedigree in his game. Former Hawk Anton Forsberg serves as a decent enough backup.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks have been running with an 11/7 lineup almost all season long. Their 11 forwards have undergone some changes in lines, with certain players coming in and out of the lineup, but their defense has remained mostly the same, consisting of the same 7.
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Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Moore-Nazar-Bertuzzi
Teravainen-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Dach-Donato
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy
Rinzel
Knight
To say Connor Bedard has been elite this season would be an understatement. He is amongst the league’s leading scorers, and he makes an impact every single day. Having a superstar at the top of the lineup will keep any team in most games, and that has been the case for Chicago with Bedard.
Multiple forwards will make up for the empty spot on the fourth line, including Bedard. This allows the defenders to be much fresher, as most of them are early in their careers.
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Expect Spencer Knight to be the starter in this one. With the Kings being a playoff-caliber team and no back-to-back situations, it makes more sense to go with the number one goalie.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be streamed on ESPN+ and Hulu. The puck will drop shortly after 9 PM.
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