The Chicago Blackhawks’ four-game homestead continues as they host the Los Angeles Kings at the United Center Friday night. This is the first meeting between these two Western Conference teams this season.
The Kings come to Chicago having the third best record in the Pacific Division (33-21-11) but have lost five of their last 10 games, including the latest: a 3-1 defeat against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday. The Kings have been extremely inconsistent with results lately, oscillating between a win and a loss in the last six games (3-2-1). Part of that is due to their slip in shot metric possession and quality chances. On the season, Los Angeles has been one of the top teams in shot attempt share (54.56 percent, 4th) and expected goals share (54.5 percent, 3rd) at 5-on-5, but in their last 10 games they’ve been below 50 percent in those two metrics six times and five times, respectively. In fact, five of their worst games in terms of expected goals games came during this most recent 10-game span.
The drop in offense is a key issue too, but that’s been happening since the turn of the new year:. Before Jan. 1, the Kings averaged 3.00 5-on-5 goals per 60 (3rd). After that date, the rate is down to 1.91 (30th). It was enough for the Kings to relieve Todd McLellan of his head coaching duties back in early February.
Despite the recent skid in the Kings’ performance, they shouldn’t be taken lightly, as they’re still a playoff contender, after all. They’ve been one of the best defensive teams in the league, limiting opponents to 65.8 attempts against per 60 (5th), 26.7 shots against per 60 (4th), and 9.84 high danger chances against per 60 (3rd). Additionally, Los Angeles has been especially efficient on the penalty kill, which is ranked first in the league.
The Kings don’t have any players close to a point-per-game pace like some of the other playoff contenders, but they do have a fairly balanced lineup. There are currently three forwards with 20 goals or more — Trevor Moore (25), Adrian Kempe (21), and Kevin Fiala (21) — and two more players are just short of that number: Quinton Byfield (19) and Anze Kopitar (18). Phillip Danault (0.58), Victor Arvidsson (0.51), and Pierre-Luc Dubois (0.48) are three others with around half-a-point per game or better to round out their top nine. Defensemen Drew Doughty and Matt Roy have added 17 goals and 45 assists as well. Again, all of this has been slower going since January started, but the potential for goals is still there.
In net, the Kings’ main duo of Cam Talbot and David Rittich have been well above average behind the excellent defense with .916 and .919 save percentages in 42 and 19 games, respectively.
The Kings lines likely won’t differ too much from those they ran against the Blues earlier this week, and expect Talbot to get the nod as starter in net.
The Blackhawks are on the opposite end of the spectrum of the Kings both statistically and in terms of results, although they have recently enjoyed back-to-back wins, including beating the Anaheim Ducks 7-2 on Tuesday. Connor Bedard made history with his five points (1 G, 4 A) while his chemistry with Philipp Kurashev (2 G, 2 A) continues to grow, and Petr Mrazek had another decent outing with 27 saves on 29 shots (.931 save percentage).
For the season, though, the Blackhawks have struggled mightily when it comes to offense. Bedard and Jason Dickinson are the only players with 20 goals or close to it and, while it’s possible Nick Foligno and/or Tyler Johnson will hit that mark too (they’re both at 15), it’s still a pretty sparse scoring squad. I mean, only five skaters overall even have 10 goals or more (LA has eight). The Blackhawks have seen an uptick in power-play conversion lately, which has helped the offense, but it’s also not likely to be sustainable. The lack of consistent offense against a defensive juggernaut like the Kings is an uphill battle, but the Blackhawks are meeting the Pacific Division opponent at their shakiest, so there’s always a chance for an upset.
The biggest news for the Kings game is regarding Landon Slaggert, a former 2020 third-round pick and recent NCAA graduate, who’ll play in his first NHL game.
According to lines at practice pn Thursday, it looks like he’ll slot on the fourth line as the coaching staff eases him into professional hockey. Slaggert is replacing Reese Johnson (concussion). Arvid Soderblom is expected to start in net, though.
Tale of the Tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Kings
44.53% (31st) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 54.56% (4th)
43.33% (30th) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 54.83% (3rd)
2.18 (32nd) — Goals per game — 3.02 (t-19th)
3.55 (29th) — Goals against per game — 2.60 (3rd)
46.8% (29th) — Faceoffs — 50.2% (14th)
16.4% (27th) — Power play — 21.6% (16th)
77.9% (21st) — Penalty kill — 86.5% (1st)
How to watch
When: 7:30 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
TV: NBC Sports Chicago, NHL Network
Webstream: NBC Sports App
Radio: WGN 720