Chicago Blackhawks (3–6–2) vs. Los Angeles (4–9–0)
9:30 p.m. CDT
Staples Center, Los Angeles
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN
Projected starting goaltenders
Chicago —Corey Crawford (1–4–0, .888 save percentage, 3.67 goals against average)
LA —Jack Campbell (2–3–0, .880 save percentage, 3.20 goals against average)
Team statistics
Power play
Chicago (9.1%, 29th)
LA (9.8%, 27th)
Penalty kill
Chicago (77.1%, 22nd)
LA (68.8%, 30th)
Shots for/against
Chicago (30.5, 20th; 34.5, Fourth)
LA (36.2, 1st; 29.9, 25th)
Shooting percentage
Chicago (7.4%)
LA (7.2%)
Face-off percentage
Chicago (49.6%, 17th)
LA (49.9%, 14th)
Average height and weight
Chicago — 6-foot-1, 196 pounds
LA — 6-foot-1, 204 pounds
Projected lines and pairings
Chicago Blackhawks
Brandon Saad — Jonathan Toews — Alexander Nylander
Dominik Kubalik — David Kampf — Patrick Kane
Zack Smith — Kirby Dach — Andrew Shaw
Dylan Strome — Ryan Carpenter —Alex DeBrincat
Duncan Keith — Adam Boqvist
Brent Seabrook — Calvin de Haan
Slater Koekkoek— Olli Maatta
Los Angles Kings
Carl Grundstrom—Anze Kopitar — Jeff Carter
Ilya Kovalchuk— Blake Lizotte — Tyler Toffoli
Alex Iafallo — Adrian Kempe — Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford — Michael Amadio — Trevor Lewis
Alec Martinez — Drew Doughty
Ben Hutton — Sean Walker
Kurtis MacDermid — Matt Roy
Analysis
The youth movement has begun in Chicago. After getting crushed by the Nashville Predators, the Blackhawks made two moves to kick the youth movement into full gear. The first move was recalling their top defensive prospect Adam Boqvist. Boqvist was the eighth overall selection of the Blackhawks in 2018. The second move was formally announcing that Kirby Dach would be remaining with the team for the remainder of the year. The Blackhawks had nine games to decide if they would keep up Dach and burn a year of entry-level contract (ELC).
The lone bright spot in the youth movement era has been Robin Lehner. Lehner put on an impressive display in his last outing against the Nashville Predators. Also of note, veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook is returning to the lineup after being scratched for the last two games.
The Blackhawks next opponent are the Los Angeles Kings. This is the second meeting of the three between the teams this season. The shot barrage that the Blackhawks faced last game against Nashville figures to continue against the Kings, as they are the league leader in shots on net. Even their goalies get shots on net, Jack Campbell registered his first career shot on goal against Toronto. Campbell’s shot on net is the second shot on goal from a netminder in Kings History. Corey Crawford will have to be on his toes early because the Kings scored the fastest three goals in team history on October, 12 of this year when they scored three goals in thirty seconds.
Can the Blackhawks once again rebound against the King or will the Kings shot barrage sink the Blackhawks?