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About This Page: This is a discussion on LA Kings Talk within the LetsGoKings.com forums, at Los Angeles Kings Hockey Fan Forum. VS.
Los Angeles Kings (26-34-3) 55 pts
VS.
Chicago Blackhawks (28-26-6) 62 pts
Game Time: 1:00 PM PST | 4:00 PM EST
Location: Staples Center |
Jonathan Toews and Nikolai Khabibulin hope this trip to Staples Center goes a lot better than their last one.
On Saturday, they'll try to help the Chicago Blackhawks build off a shutout win as they face the Los Angeles Kings in a matchup of last-place teams.
Nothing went right for Chicago (28-26-6) on Jan. 1 in a 9-2 loss at Los Angeles. Toews suffered a sprained knee that sidelined him for 16 games, and the Blackhawks went 5-9-2 to fall to the bottom of the Central Division.
Khabibulin faced nine shots in the first 15:04, allowing four goals before being replaced by Patrick Lalime, who stopped 12 of 17 shots as Chicago gave up nine goals for the first time since November 2005.
Toews returned to the lineup Feb. 10, and has two goals and three assists while the Blackhawks have gone 4-1-1. Though he's failed to register a point in his last three games, the third overall pick in the 2006 draft is second among rookies this season in goals (17) and fourth in points (37).
On Wednesday against Minnesota, Khabibulin made 38 saves in a 3-0 victory. It was his 37th career shutout, but only his second with Chicago and first since stopping 26 shots to blank Los Angeles on March 6.
Patrick Kane opened the scoring 3:49 into Wednesday's contest, and continues to lead all first-year players with 51 points (14 goals, 37 assists). Fellow rookie Dave Bolland had the first multigoal game of his NHL career.
While Toews and Khabibulin would like to forget last month's visit to Los Angeles, the Kings' Ladislav Nagy and Alexander Frolov probably cannot wait to see the Blackhawks after each player had five points in the rout. Nagy had three goals and two assists while Frolov scored twice and added three assists.
The Kings (26-34-3), who are last in the Pacific Division with a league-low 55 points, will look to Frolov and linemates Patrick O'Sullivan and Michael Cammalleri to lead them to their fourth win in five home games.
The line combined for 11 points on Thursday in a 5-1 win over St. Louis. Frolov scored three goals for his first hat trick since January 2006, O'Sullivan set career highs with four assists and five points and Cammalleri - who's missed 18 games this season with injured ribs and the flu - had a season-best three assists.
In 10 games this month, Frolov has seven goals and eight assists. O'Sullivan has three goals and eight assists in his last nine games.
Making just his third start of the season, veteran Dan Cloutier lost a bid for his first shutout since March 2004 with just over four minutes to play Thursday.
Cloutier missed more than half of last season with a hip injury that required surgery, and started this season in the AHL while the Kings went with Jason LaBarbera, Jean-Sebastien Aubin and rookies Jon Quick and Jonathan Bernier.
Cloutier hasn't faced the Blackhawks since 2005, but has won five straight starts against them while posting a 1.97 GAA.
The Kings have a home record of 14-17-1, and their last 10 games is a record of 5-5.
The Blackhawks have a road record of 13-13-5, and their last 10 games is a record of 5-3-2.
The Kings have a few days off before starting a 4 game road trip Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place.
"We played great as a line tonight," Frolov said. "Cammy and Sully are very good players, and when they hold onto the puck and move their feet and make some plays in the offensive zone, things happen for us."
"Shutouts are nice to get, but I wasn't really disappointed," Cloutier said. "They're a hungry team and their power play has been playing a lot better the last couple of games after struggling."
"Obviously I was disappointed, because no athlete likes to go down to that level. But I realized that it was the best thing for me," Cloutier said. "They told me I was going to play every game down there, good or bad, and just build myself back to where I was. Then, all of a sudden, I wasn't playing down there. I wasn't even traveling with the team sometimes, so I thought these guys had no plans for me. And when you're 31 years old in the minors and not traveling, it kind of sends you a message. But I just told myself to stay positive and work hard, because you never know what could happen. The next thing you know, I get called up."
"If you’re a scorer, you always have to try to score as much as you can,’’ Frolov said. "You try to improve every year. You try to be better than you were before.’’
"You can kind of tell in certain situations that he’s hurting,’’ said Patrick O’Sullivan, who centered Frolov’s line on Thursday and assisted on all three of his goals. "But it doesn’t seem to matter, does it? He’s an elite player in this league. He’s really smart and always in the right place. I think all three of his goals yesterday he was standing still, so that shows how smart he is.’’
Enjoy the following interviews & quotes brought to you by Matthew Kredell.
Los Angeles Kings
Derek Armstrong (Left knee sprain on 2/21/08) day-to-day
Rob Blake (Left ankle fracture on 2/2/08) IR
Ladislav Nagy (Sore neck on 1/19/08) IR
Chicago Blackhawks
Kevyn Adams (Torn left ACL on 11/8/07) IR
Ben Eager (Concussion symptoms on 2/2/08) IR
Yanic Perreault (Fractured wrist on 2/11/08) IR
Is Blake STILL here??? Will someone please let the Blake out?
Wake his ass up and tell him that the party is over. Get him his stuff, thank him for coming, tell him we hope he had a good time and enjoyed all the food and drink but ITS TIME TO SAY GOODBYE!
Tell him to drive safely, ask him if he needs a cab, but get him the **** outta here!
***GDT - Chicago Blackhawks @ Los Angeles Kings - 2/23/08*** 
Watti
