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King Without a Crown: Blackhawks vs. Kings Preview

Back at the UC after last week’s road trip, with an exciting Chicago debut happening on Monday night.

Posted on by Dave Melton
Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

After a weeklong jaunt out west, one of the teams Chicago skipped on that trip is at the United Center on Monday night when the Blackhawks host the Los Angeles Kings.

We’re going to start with the Blackhawks in this preview, as Monday’s game now carries a heightened level of intrigue with the news from the morning skate that Spencer Knight will be the man in net after joining the team two days ago in Saturday night’s trade of Seth Jones to Florida. Knight, who is just 23 years old and checks in at 6-foot-3 and 191 pounds, has been touted as one of the top goalie prospects in hockey since he was drafted No. 13 overall by the Panthers back in 2019. There’s a ton of potential here, and the outcome on Monday night should not yank any long-term projections in either direction, especially considering the still-not-good team in front of him.

Knight was a popular figure in the media scrums following Monday’s morning skate and said he was the one who decided to hop right into the starting role which, from this angle, feels like a sign of a goalie who isn’t afraid of the spotlight:

Because hockey players of a certain level tend to run into each other along their paths to the NHL, Knight does have a few familiar faces among his new teammates:

Both of those players will be in the lineup on Monday night, with the top line being a kids line that sees the aforementioned Slaggert as the puck-winner on a line with two other players who could benefit from someone willing to do the dirty work in Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, because they’d certainly know what to do with any loose pucks Slaggert can win over to them. Another change has Louis Crevier slotting in alongside Alex Vlasic with TJ Brodie apparently scratched. Crevier was recalled to take the roster spot of Philipp Kurashev, who was placed on IR retroactive to Feb. 27 with a hand injury.

Including the starting goalie, 10 of the 19 players who’ll be on the ice for Chicago in this game can be considered long-term pieces here. Teuvo and Bertuzzi also have multiple seasons left on their deals, so they won’t be leaving anytime soon, either. This is the kind of lineup that makes things a little more interesting on the ice, because positive results will inspire hope of future success here instead of a better return in a transaction at the trade deadline.

As for the visiting Kings, the last few months have provided severe whiplash for anyone in the team’s orbit, as Los Angeles lost eight of 10 to close out January, won five of six in February with the 4 Nations break sandwiched around that span and then lost three in a row, including a 4-1 loss at home to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. LA is still locked in to third place in the Pacific Division with a five-point lead over the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks with games in hand on both teams. The Kings seemed destined for a first-round postseason matchup with whichever team finishes as the runner-up in the chase for the division crown between the Oilers and Golden Knights, although don’t tell that to any of the Kings players, who believe a divisional title is still within reach:

LA’s offense isn’t too terrifying, with Adrian Kempe as the team leader at 49 points (26 G, 23 A) in 58 games and the possibly immortal Anze Kopitar checking in next at 47 (13 G, 34 A) in 58. Let’s go ahead and hope having last change ensures the Hawks can keep Bedard miles away from Kopitar all game. But the biggest story for this team is probably in goal, where 2022 Stanley Cup winner Darcy Kuemper looks like he’s regained the form that allowed Colorado to summit the league three years ago with Kuemper in the crease for it. A woeful 2023-24 season in Washington has been erased by Kuemper’s numbers this season: 18-7-6 record, .913 save percentage, 2.33 goals-against average. LA has some of the better possession numbers in the league, so Kuemper’s workload hasn’t been overwhelming, but he’s been up to the task when called upon.

The expectation here is that Kuemper will start this game after backup David Rittich handled the net for LA on Saturday. No sign of a morning skate for the Kings, though, so confirmation on that is still a few hours away. Below is the lineup from that most recent Kings game:

With kids overtaking the Blackhawks lineup for this game, it already feels a little more interesting than most nights this season. Toss in the Chicago debut of the team’s possible franchise goalie for the next decade, and there’s a little more reason to ensure we’re all huddled around a TV screen or making the trek up to 1901 W. Madison for this game. Coming away with two points would make it even more fun.

Let’s go Hawks.

Tale of the Tape

Blackhawks — Statistic — Kings
43.98% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 53.12% (5th)
43.09% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 54.34% (3rd)
2.72 (28th) — Goals per game — 2.84 (t-20th)
3.52 (30th) — Goals against per game — 2.62 (5th)
44.8% (31st) — Faceoffs — 50.9% (13th)
26.2% (6th) — Power play — 15.3% (30th)
81.1% (t-8th) — Penalty kill — 81.1% (t-8th)

How to Watch

When: 7:30 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV: CHSN
Webstream: ESPN+, Hulu
Radio: WGN 720

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