It seems like any time the LA Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks meet up these days it warrants attention.
After all, just about a year ago the two teams played what was arguably the best playoff series we have seen in the last 15 years and maybe beyond that. So no question why when the two meet in the regular season it has that heavyweight tilt feel to it.
The two teams have met a grand total of 185 times, with the Blackhawks holding a 90-74-17-7 record against L.A. (17 is from back when the league had ties)
Despite the closeness of their overall records, the Kings have had a heck of a time with the Blackhawks in recent years. The Hawks hold a dominant 18-5-1 record against the Kings dating back to start of the 2010 season. This year the two teams have split games. Los Angeles edged the Hawks at home in a 4-3 decision back in January, while Chicago took the series opener 4-1 back in late November.
The teams are still considered by many two of the most dominant teams in the league. With that being said, neither team has had a year you would qualify as "dominant"
The Kings, as of today, sit outside the playoff race in 9th position. Confidence is growing that the Kings will make the playoffs though as the Flames and Jets have both started to stumble. Still, this is not where they wanted to find themselves with just a few weeks left in the season. While still capable of stretches of dominant hockey, it has been fewer and farther between than past seasons. Stars have been cold, slumps have been extensive, and the lineup has seemed to be in flux from day one of the season.
Chicago again find themselves safely in a playoff spot for 2014-15, but they are not safely assured anything else in a wildly competitive Central division. With only a handful of games left, the Blackhawks find themselves behind both St. Louis and Nashville and only one point ahead of the red hot Minnesota Wild. It is not out of the question that Chicago could end up the 4th seed of the Central Division. That would mean no home ice throughout the playoffs potentially. Currently they are without one of the most dynamic offensive talents in the game in Patrick Kane, and Corey Crawford has seen wild swings of inconsistency. The Blackhawks, who are 6-3-1 in their last 10, played last night in Winnipeg and won in somewhat dramatic and controversial fashion. Have a look.
Toews has points in three of his last four games, and he and linemates Marian Hossa and Kris Versteeg have seen mixed results as of late. Meanwhile, Antoine Vermette has struggled to get off the mark with the Hawks and is goalless in his 12 games in the Windy City. The Brad Richards experiment has also had its ebbs and flows, and the centermen is currently looking at a stretch of three goals and only six points in his last 23 games. It has been a marvelous year for one of his wingers though, as Brandon Saad continues to develop and grow as a valuable top-six NHL forward.
For the Kings, the latest stretch of games have been all about balance. The team has limited some highly potent offenses in the Islanders and the Rangers, while putting up three to four goals a night as well. The other night in Minnesota, however, was a dreary and lifeless effort. While the second period was dominated by the LA Kings, a corpse-like start got the team behind too early to really crawl back in. With their playoff hopes dampened a little, expect the Kings to come out ready to go in this one. Tyler Toffoli continues to be a source of good offense, and he has points in three of his last four contests. Also keep an eye on Marian Gaborik, who has maybe been the Kings most consistent scorer this season. This season Gaborik has not gone more than six games without finding twine, and that was back during the first six games of the 2014-15 season. His 23 goals are second on the team behind Jeff Carter with 26. In case you were wondering about Mike Richards, he has existed, but it has been fairly low-key and unnoticeable. He has played anywhere between 10-12 minutes a night on the 4th line, but has been used in a number of penalty kill and defensive zone situations for Sutter.
For both teams these contests often involve the term "measuring stick" games. While right now, the main focus should be on points and not a perceived measuring stick, you still can't help but feel like these games tell us where the teams are at competitively. At top form these are still two of the best teams in the league, even though the standings do not have them in such a place.
With looming standings implications and both teams starting long runs of divisional games, these are points both teams want badly.
Should be a competitive tilt.
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