Los Angeles Kings (5-11-1) at Chicago Blackhawks (7-8-4)
7:30pm CST/5:30pm PST
United Center
TV/Radio: NHL Network, NBCSCH, FS-W/WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Corey Crawford (4-6-0 W/L, SV%: 0.911 GAA: 2.76)
Los Angeles – Peter Budaj (0-1-0 W/L, SV%: 0.833 GAA: 5.50)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (13.8%, 28th)
Los Angeles (14.3, T-26th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (74.6%, 26th)
Los Angeles (78.4%, 19th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.5, T-9th, 33.1, 24th)
Los Angeles (27.6, 29th, 30.2, 9th)
Shooting %
Chicago (8.4%, 26th)
Los Angeles (7.4%, 30th)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.9%, T-17th)
Los Angeles (52.3%, 4th)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Los Angeles 6’1” 206lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Nick Schmaltz–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden
Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–Andreas Martinsen
Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Manning–Gustav Forsling
Los Angeles Kings
Alex Iafallo–Anze Kopitar–Dustin Brown
Ilya Kovalchuk–Jeff Carter–Tyler Toffoli
Carl Hagelin–Michael Amadio–Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford–Adrian Kempe–Nate Thompson
Derek Forbort–Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin–Alec Martinez
Dion Phaneuf–Oscar Fantenberg
Analysis
Chicago ended an eight-game losing streak, shutting out the Blues on Wednesday, and look to start a winning streak against a struggling Kings team.
Willie Desjardins, hired as head coach after the firing of John Stevens, has the Kings coming in on a three-game losing streak. Los Angeles managed a measly two goals in those three losses.
The offensive hindered Kings are led by forward Ilya Kovalchuk, signed this summer after a stint in the KHL, with five goals and fourteen points.
Do not adjust your televisions, that was a power play goal on Wednesday. Blues’ defenseman Jay Bouwmeester did kick the puck into his own net, but they all count the same for the Hawks. Brent Seabrook was credited with his third goal of the season, and all things considered, the Hawks’ power play will take it.
Corey Crawford is expected in net tonight. Crawford played excellent in his first shutout of the season. Los Angeles will really on goalie Peter Budaj tonight, both Jonathan Quick and Jack Campbell are out with injuries, and stopped only 15 of the 19 shots he faced on Tuesday.
Comment below in our live game thread tonight!
And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.