Kings at Blackhawks
The Los Angeles Kings have lost all but one of their eight road contests this postseason. The reigning Stanley Cup champions will need to win Saturday's Game 5 of their Western Conference final against the host Chicago Blackhawks or see their bid for a repeat come to an end. The top-seeded Blackhawks shouldn't get too comfortable with a 3-1 series lead, having overcome that exact deficit to oust Original Six-rival Detroit in the second round.
"I think we can just go into (Game 5) with the mindset that we're down 3-1," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said on Friday. "... I think that's when you play with the most desperation. We did that (in Game 4) and we know we have to raise our level of play even more (Saturday), so we'll go forward with that mentality." Speaking of Game 4, Marian Hossa scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period as the Blackhawks snapped fifth-seeded Los Angeles' 15-game home winning streak with a 3-2 triumph on Thursday. Should Chicago emerge victorious on Saturday, it will face Boston in the Stanley Cup final. That contest would mark the first time Original Six rivals will vie for the Cup since 1979, when Montreal defeated the New York Rangers.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE KINGS: Los Angeles has faced its fair share of adversity in the postseason, rallying from an 0-2 deficit against fourth-seeded St. Louis in the first round as well as winning a decisive seventh game against Pacific Division-rival San Jose in the second. Coach Darryl Sutter isn't interested in living in the past, however. "We're not looking at it like last night or 40 years ago or however long," he said. "We're looking at it like the next game only."
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: The Presidents' Trophy-winning Blackhawks will regain the services of defenseman Duncan Keith, who was suspended for Game 4 after his high-sticking incident with Jeff Carter. The 2010 Norris Trophy winner watched fellow blue-liners Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook turn in fine performances in his absence. Hjalmarsson notched a pair of assists and a plus-2 rating while logging nearly 25 minutes of ice time. Seabrook played nearly 26 1/2 minutes and registered three hits.
OVERTIME
1. Chicago LW Bryan Bickell netted his eighth goal of the playoffs in Game 4 to extend his point streak to four contests.
2. Los Angeles D Slava Voynov's six postseason goals are the most by a blue-liner since Vancouver's Ed Jovanovski had seven in 2003. Voynov has two goals and three assists in his last three contests.
3. Kings C Mike Richards is "doubtful at best" to return for Saturday's tilt, according to Sutter. Richards has missed the last three games with a concussion following a brutal hit from Blackhawks C Dave Bolland.