CHICAGO -- The CHICAGO Blackhawks finally have put their eight-game
losing streak in the rearview mirror.
Now, with their dim postseason chances hanging in the balance, the
Blackhawks would like to start a winning streak when they host the
Los Angeles Kings tonight at the United Center.
Chicago (25-26-8) is coming off a resounding 7-1 win over the
Washington Capitals that marked the team's first victory in
February. The Blackhawks improved to 13-13-3 at home and finished
with their third-most goals of the season.
"Let's see how we respond to this because there's a lot of hockey
left," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, who has not missed the
playoffs since taking over the team during the 2008-09 season, told
reporters after the game.
Los Angeles (31-22-5) is much closer to the top eight playoff seeds
in the Western Conference but also finds itself on the outside
looking in with 24 games to play in the regular season. The Kings
are 17-13-2 on the road.
Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick likely will make his 45th start of
the season. He is 22-21-2 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a
.920 save percentage. In 27 career games against the Blackhawks, he
is 11-15-1 with a 2.65 GAA and .912 save percentage.
Blackhawks goaltender Anton Forsberg likely will start opposite
Quick. Forsberg has served as the primary starter since Chicago's
top netminder Corey Crawford went down because of an upper-body
injury.
In 22 games this season, Forsberg is 6-11-3 with a 2.95 GAA and
.908 save percentage. He lost four games in a row before making 19
of 20 saves against the high-powered Capitals. He has faced the
Kings only once in his career, stopping 21 of 22 shots but taking a
hard-fought loss.
Chicago is led in scoring by Patrick Kane, who has 55 points (22
goals, 33 assists) in 59 games. Rookie Alex DeBrincat is tied with
Kane with 22 goals. Nick Schmaltz and Jonathan Toews are tied with
40 points apiece.
The Kings are led by Anze Kopitar, who has 63 points (25 goals, 38
assists) in 58 games. Drew Doughty is next with 41 points (eight
goals, 31 assists) and Dustin Brown is third on the team with 40
points (16 goals, 24 assists).
The Kings are coming off a 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on
Saturday afternoon that snapped a three-game losing streak.
"I thought the start of the game was different and was a big reason
we won the game," Kings coach John Stevens said to the team's
official website. "I thought we did a lot of good things. It wasn't
just the first line, I thought we had a really good rotation
through our lineup where guys were really playing fast, we got
pucks up to speed, and we were getting pucks in behind."
This marks the second of three meetings during the regular season.
The Kings won the initial matchup 3-1 on Dec. 3 at the United
Center. The final meeting will be March 3 at Staples Center in Los
Angeles.
