Game 34 Preview: Los Angeles at Chicago

Los Angeles Kings (22-7-4) at Chicago Blackhawks (23-7-5)
Sunday, December 15, 2013, 6:00 p.m. CT
United Center, Chicago, IL
Referees: #38 Francois St. Laurent, #9 Dan O’Rourke
Linesmen: #68 Scott Driscoll, #78 Brian Mach
FOX Sports West, KTLK 1150 AM

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Ben Scrivens
2013-14 Season: 15 GP (12 GS) / 7-2-4 record / 1.56 GAA / .943 Sv% / 3 SHO
Career vs Chicago: First appearance
Last Game vs Chicago: First appearance
2013-14, Away: 3 (3) / 3-0-0 / 0.98 / .969 / 1
-The team does not name starting goaltenders in advance, and without a morning skate today, this projection is based heavily on Jones seeing a heavy workload on the front end of a back-to-back.

Chicago Projected Starting Goaltender – Antti Raanta
2013-14 Season: 8 GP (6 GS) / 5-1-1 record / 2.61 GAA / .911 Sv% / 0 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: First appearance
Last Game vs Los Angeles: First appearance
2013-14, Home: 3 (2) / 2-0-1 / 2.11 / .931 / 0
-Chicago did not hold a morning skate; Chicago’s starter likely won’t be learned until the Joel Quenneville meets reporters at 4:00 p.m.

2013-14 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Anze Kopitar (11-18=29)
Goals: Anze Kopitar (11-18=29), Justin Williams (11-11=22)
Assists: Mike Richards (6-21=27)
Plus/Minus: Anze Kopitar (+15; 11-18=29)
Penalty Minutes: Daniel Carcillo (57; 1-1=2)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (25:51; 6-11=17)

2013-14 Chicago Leaders
Total Points: Patrick Kane (19-25=44)
Goals: Patrick Kane (19-25=44)
Assists: Duncan Keith (2-27=29)
Plus/Minus: Brandon Saad (+18; 12-13=25)
Penalty Minutes: Brandon Bollig (59; 3-5=8)
Time On Ice: Duncan Keith (24:18; 2-27=29)

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 14 / 2.67; CHI – 1 / 3.66
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 1 / 1.91; CHI – 19 / 2.77
Power Play: LAK – 20 / 16.8%; CHI – 5 / 23.7%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 5 / 86.3%; CHI – 29 / 73.1%
Shots/Game: LAK – t-9 / 30.9; CHI – 3 / 33.2
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 5 / 27.0; CHI – t-6 / 27.5
Faceoffs: LAK – 1 / 54.5%; CHI – 10 / 51.7%
Save Percentage: LAK – t-2 / .929; CHI – 26 / .899

Los Angeles Projected Lines

Dwight King – Anze Kopitar – Jeff Carter
Dustin Brown – Jarret Stoll – Justin Williams
Kyle Clifford – Mike Richards – Tyler Toffoli
Daniel Carcillo – Trevor Lewis – Jordan Nolan

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Robyn Regehr – Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez – Matt Greene

Ben Scrivens
Martin Jones

Level of confidence in projected lines: B. Darryl Sutter said after yesterday’s game that Willie Mitchell got “dinged up a little,” so his status is uncertain for tonight. Whether Matt Greene would draw into tonight’s game, he said “we’ll see in warm-up.” Greene’s presence would allow Martinez to slide over to his more natural side, so I’m projecting Greene over a less-than-100% Mitchell. Flip a coin to see who starts in goal.

Notes and milestones: The Kings are 77-81-22 all-time against the Blackhawks and 37-43-11 all-time on the road in the series. Los Angeles is 4-2-0 in the last six regular season meetings and have won three of the last four regular season games at the United Center, both dating back to December 28, 2011. After tonight, these teams will meet on December 30 in Chicago and on February 3 in Los Angeles. … The Kings have won six games in a row. The club record for consecutive wins is nine, set from January 21 to February 6, 2010. … The Kings’ 48 points (22-7-4) after 33 games is the most in club history. Their 26 points (12-3-2) after 17 road games is the most in club history. … The Kings are 8-0-2 in the last 10 road games, marking the second longest road point streak in club history. The 1974-75 club recorded points in 11 straight games, going 6-0-5. … The Kings have not allowed a first period goal in 18 consecutive games, the longest streak in the NHL since the 1927-28 season. The last player to score a first period goal on Los Angeles was Shea Weber, who scored one of two first period Nashville goals in a 4-3 Predators win at STAPLES Center on November 2. The Kings have allowed 12 total first period goals through 33 games. … The Kings have points in 17 of their last 18 games, going 13-1-4. … Excluding shootout goals, the Kings have allowed two goals or less in 18 straight games, a club record. … Excluding the shootout goal in their win over Anaheim on December 3, the Kings have outscored opponents 22-7 in their six-game winning streak. … The Kings have been outshot in three consecutive games for the second time this season. The Kings were also outshot in consecutive wins at the New York Islanders (24-25), New Jersey Devils (21-26) and New York Rangers (30-37) from November 14-17. … The Kings have power play goals in three straight games and are 3-for-7 with the man advantage on this road trip. They have scored three power play goals in their last 40 opportunities. … The Kings have killed off 63 of the last 68 penalties, dating back to November 7, and 56 of the last 60 penalties, dating back to November 14. … Including playoffs, Drew Doughty has one goal, eight points and a minus-13 rating in 23 career games against Chicago. … Martin Jones has allowed three goals in the last 262:43, having stopped 120-of-123 shots. … Jarret Stoll has six points (2-4=6) in the last six games. … Slava Voynov has assists in three straight games (0-3=3). … Dustin Brown has goals in five of 33 games this season after scoring goals in 14 of 48 games last season He is one point shy of 400 career points (187-212=399).

Chicago Projected Lines

Patrick Sharp – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Kris Versteeg – Michal Handzus – Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad – Andrew Shaw – Jeremy Morin
Brandon Bollig – Marcus Kruger – Ben Smith

Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Johnny Oduya – Niklas Hjalmarsson
Nick Leddy — Sheldon Brookbank

Antti Raanta
Kent Simpson

Notes and milestones: Lines via Brian Hedger of NHL.com, though Hedger projected Simpson over Raanta. … Chicago is 7-0-2 against the Pacific Division and 7-6-1 against the Central Division. … The Blackhawks are 6-0-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season. Last season they were 10-1-1 on both the first and second nights of back-to-back sets for a 20-2-2 overall record. … The Blackhawks have averaged 1.49 goals per game in the second period. … Chicago’s home penalty killing ranks last in the league at 68.8% (33-of-48). … The Blackhawks have scored at least five goals 14 times this season and have scored 22 goals over the last four games. … Chicago has scored a power play goal in eight straight games. … Patrick Kane ranks second in the NHL with 44 points (19-25=44). … In 26 regular season games against Los Angeles, Patrick Sharp has recorded 31 points (18-13=31) and a plus-11 rating. … In 21 regular season games against Los Angeles, Jonathan Toews has 22 points (12-10=22) and a plus-15 rating.