Chicago Blackhawks v Los Angeles Kings (Staples Center)
Time: 7:30 PM PST
TV: NBCSN
Enemy Reading: Second City Hockey
Lineups:
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Sharp-B. Richards-Kane
Bickell-Shaw-Teravainen
Nordstrom-Kruger-Smith
Keith-Rundblad
Hjalmarsson-Seabrook
Rozsival-Oduya
Crawford
(Raanta)
Injured: Versteeg, van Riemsdyk; Scratched: Rasmussen, Erixon; Suspended: Carcillo
Gaborik-Kopitar-Brown
King-Carter-Toffoli
Clifford-Stoll-Williams
Lewis-Shore-Nolan
Muzzin-Doughty
Regehr-Martinez
McNabb-Greene
Quick
(Jones)
Injured: Pearson; Scratched: McBain, Andreoff; Suspended: Voynov
Notes:
- The Mike Richards-less era begins today. It could last anywhere from two months to forever. Brace yourselves!
- The All-Star Break came at a decent time for the Kings, who really needed a week to recharge. The prime beneficiary, however, is Tyler Toffoli, who returns after a three-week battle with mononucleosis. Despite the long layoff, Toffoli managed to miss just six games in this time. #blessed
- Toffoli, by the way, has seven goals in sixteen career games (regular season and playoffs) against the Hawks.
- This is the first game much-hyped prospect Teuvo Teravainen will play against the Kings. If you listen to members of Chicago Hockey Twitter, he may or may not be the second coming. Either way, LA needs to keep an eye on him, has he’s been effective in eight games with the big club this year.
- LA’s first matchup against the Blackhawks went poorly… just ask Darryl Sutter.
If you’re going to give them two goals, you’re probably going to get your ass kicked, and that’s exactly what happened.
Without Marian Gaborik and Alec Martinez, the Kings had little spark in a 4-1 loss. LA had just four shots in the final 20 minutes with a two-goal deficit, a deficit that was partially due to… sigh… Daniel Carcillo. Carcillo is currently in the midst of a six-game suspension due to a highly illegal cross-check on Mathieu Perreault.
- The main driving force behind that victory, though, was Brad Richards. His 28 points in 44 games rank fifth on the Blackhawks as he continues to take advantage of the Kane Bump. He won’t have another Richards to kick around tonight, though.
- PREDICTION: The Kings’ PK decides whether or not they win this game.