Game Previews

Kings-Blackhawks Game 3 Preview: (Highway to the) Danger Zone

The Kings head back to Staples, hoping that home ice helps them fight their way back into this series.

Time: 6.00 PM

TV: RDS, TSN, NBC Sports Network

Enemy reading: Second City Hockey

Series coverage: Notes & Information | Preview | Game 1 coverage | Game 2 coverage

Blackhawks (projected) lineup:

Bickell-Toews-Hossa
Sharp-Handzus-Kane
Saad-Shaw-Stalberg
Kruger-Bolland-Frolik

Keith-Seabrook
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
Leddy-Rozsival

Crawford

Injured: n/a; Scratched: Carcillo, Mayers, Smith, Brookbank, Stanton

Kings (projected) lineup:

Brown-Kopitar-Williams
Penner-Carter-Toffoli
King-Stoll-Lewis
Clifford-Fraser-Richardson

Regehr-Doughty
Scuderi-Voynov
MartinezMuzzin-Greene

Quick

Injured: Mitchell, Richards; Scratched: MuzzinMartinez, Ellerby, Nolan, the Manchester Monarchs

Game notes:

Everybody is "banged up". Nobody can score a goal . And the other night, Jonathan Quick couldn't make a save, either. So, things are looking a bit grim - but hey, it takes four losses to get eliminated, and we're not there yet.
Let's talk good stuff: Tyler Toffoli rules. The whole Penner-Carter-Toffoli line was solid. The Blackhawks' home PK record was broken. After a shaky outing against the Sharks, Slava Voynov remembered how to be awesome. (And if you haven't read these Slava Voynov stories yet, you should, because they're great.)
Jonathan Quick was due for a rough night. He's still a great goaltender, and he can still help the team come back and win this series. He had rough nights last playoffs too, but nobody cared because the whole team was playing so well that it didn't matter. Now it does, but he's still the guy. If you think otherwise, you're silly.
Robyn Regehr is killing me.
Not much to say about the Blackhawks. It's plain to see how well they're playing. While they're getting a bit of unsustainable production from some role guys, they've also seen some unsustainably low production from their stars, so I'd say it probably evens out. The Kings can't count on the Blackhawks getting worse - they just have to be better, plain and simple.
Prediction: Kings win the game; Kings in six.