2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Viewing Guide: LA Kings vs Chicago Blackhawks

Well, well, well. The LA Kings have once again reached the Western Conference Final. We could try to say that the Kings make going so deep in the playoffs look easy, but they definitely haven’t done that. They made running through the playoffs look easy in 2012, but in 2013 it looked difficult, and they found ways to make it look like an even tougher task this postseason.

In the Kings’ opinion, the only way to top playing one seven game series in the playoffs is to try two! They managed to win both, and their grand reward is facing the Chicago Blackhawks.

Get it? Because the Kings won, but now Chelsea Dagger, and — yeah, you probably get it.

 
RECENT HISTORY

This time around the Kings are taking on the defending Stanley Cup champions, but the situation was reversed last year. The Chicago Blackhawks eliminated the Kings in five games last season to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final versus the Boston Bruins. One of the most memorable moments of that series for plenty of people [translation: Blackhawks fans (translation: everyone who isn’t a Kings fan)] is Patrick Kane’s OT goal that both completed a hat trick for him and knocked the Kings out.

As we’ve mentioned on this blog before, we tend to forget about that because we’re forever hyped up on the tying goal that allowed the Kings to go to overtime. Mike Richards was almost definitely playing with a beautiful mind during game 5 — the poo icing on an injured Kings poo cake by that round — but he was a key person to have on the ice during this moment.

 
I feel like some random actor in a Coca-Cola commercial whenever I watch this clip. AAHHHHHHHH! Tastes good.

The other memorable moment, by the way, is Duncan Keith chopping Jeff Carter across the mouth in game 3 and earning himself a one-game suspension. Obviously.

The sad part is that the Kings still lost game 4 even without having Chicago’s best defenseman in the lineup.

Since then, the Kings have won no games against the Blackhawks. They lost all three regular season games in 2013-14. Including playoff games, the Blackhawks are 9-2 against the Kings for the last two seasons, which would suggest that Kings are in for a bad time.

 
TWO-FER

Both teams have mostly remained intact since 2013. This means, of course, that Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are still two much-lauded and always threatening players for Chicago. However, the Kings have picked up a hot new goal-scoring piece to complement their top line center, and he’s Slovakian, so watch out Kane and Marian Hossa. The LA boys snapped up a Marian of their own, and he’s the leading goal-scorer of the playoffs.

Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik have been essential and nearly unstoppable for the Kings this postseason. Just ask the NHL league leaderboard. Kopitar’s still sitting pretty with the most points of all players at 19, putting him eight ahead of Chicago’s leaders — Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook. Gaborik has three more goals than Chicago’s leaders, Kane and Bryan Bickell.

THX BUD’s been among Kings fans and bloggers who’ve said that Toews isn’t quite on Kopitar’s level as a defensive forward this season. The second straight series between these teams gives everyone another look at that matchup and whether Kopitar can continue to lead the Kings team on the ice. It’ll be difficult, because Toews has been an excellent possession player against the Kings and, like Kopitar, he’s having less trouble scoring this year.

 
ISN’T THAT SOMETHING?

 
Can’t Be Regehr’d

Injuries are never something to celebrate, but Robyn Regehr still being unavailable to return to the lineup means Drew Doughty definitely won’t be handcuffed to him during this series. The Doughty-Regehr defensive pairing got a lot of minutes in the 2013 Kings-Blackhawks series, and it’s contributed to the Blackhawks eating Doughty alive in possession. Over the last two seasons, Doughty’s Corsi has been at 61 percent when paired with other Kings defenseman. With Regehr that number drops down to 54 percent.

Goal On Goals On Goals

The Kings’ streaky goal-scoring has been a recurring story the last few years. On the flip side, the Blackhawks are known as one of — and possibly the absolute — best offensive team in the NHL right now. They roll four lines that can all contribute to the scoreboard. Chicago finished second in goal-scoring during the regular season, generating 3.18 goals per game. However, heading into the series, it’s the Kings who boast the better scoring record. They lead all teams in the postseason with 3.21 goals per game, thanks in no small part to Kopitar and Gaborik.

Neutral Net

There isn’t much difference at all between Jonathan Quick and Corey Crawford fundamentally. They’ve both won the Stanley Cup, they have similar career numbers, and their career playoff save percentages are dead even at .926. Crawford is having the stronger, more consistent 2013-14 postseason so far. His .931 save percentage is the best among goaltenders in the playoffs.

 
FOR KINGS FANS WHO CAN READ GOOD

Jewels From the Crown – WCF Preview Stream
New York Times – A Familiar Duel for the West Title
Second City Hockey – WCF Preview
HockeeNight – By The Numbers
NHL.com – Blackhawks, Kings meet again in Western Final

That’s pretty much it. Shoutout to Marcus Kruger on the Blackhawks who gets insane deployments and still owns guys in possession regularly. We’d also like to show some love to Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, who have yet to get past Toews and Kane in a playoff series. Could this be the year???

We don’t have a game this round, because we’re stressed out by this matchup. The game is drink when you feel like dying. The fun part is that even if the Kings lose, you win!