The L.A. Kings head to Staples Center — home to a sweet organ, “Go Kings Go!” chants and Hollywood tans — riding the momentum of six unanswered goals in Game 2 and a routing of the defending Stanley Cup champions that sucked the life out of Chicago’s United Center in a hurry Wednesday night. Those Kings have to be feeling pretty good.
The question ahead of Saturday night’s Game 3 of this tied-up Western Conference final is, of course, whether the Kings can keep that powerhouse offence going, or whether Chicago will put a lid on it and get back on track.
Here are the three keys to Game 3, plus a bonus (because four keys to Game 3 is clearly one too many):
1. Between the pipes
Corey Crawford was solid in Game 2—until the third period. In the final frame, the Blackhawks netminder gave up four goals and watched another sail into an empty net in a 6-2 thrashing on home ice. His goals-against average fired up to 2.11 and his save percentage to .926. A day after five of 30 shots beat him in the span of 15 minutes and 90 seconds, Crawford told reporters: “It’s too many.” True. The question is whether he can bounce back.
2. On the dots
Anze Kopitar dominated the faceoff circle in Game 2 to the tune of 71.43 per cent in the win column. It seems he figured something out after losing more than half of his draws in Game 1. If the Kings’ top-line centre can keep his mojo going in the faceoff circle Saturday night, that could be huge, especially since L.A. gets preferred match-ups now that the Kings are at home. (Overall in the post-season, L.A. has won 53.2 per cent of its faceoffs to Chicago’s 50.2).
3. Jeff Carter
Boom. The London, Ont., product potted the insurance goal and then added two more (one into an empty net) for the trick in Game 2, to the delight of nobody in Chicago. In 15 post-season games before Wednesday night’s show, the Kings centre had four goals. If Carter’s heating up, that’s bad news for Chicago, only adding fuel to what’s already the hottest offence in the post-season.
Bonus key!
Andrew Shaw is likely to make his return on Saturday. The Blackhawks’ third-liner has been out the last seven games with a lower-body injury, and the hope is his return will provide a jolt. As coach Joel Quenneville told reporters, “He’s got an element you appreciate—his competitiveness.” Could be just what the Blackhawks need.
