What you need to know ahead of the Kings' game against the Chicago Blackhawks:
When: Thursday, March 20th, at 5:00 PST
Where: United Center - Chicago Blackhawks
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: LA Kings APP & ESPN LA APP
Records:
Kings: 36 - 21 - 9 (81 points), 3rd in Pacific Division
Blackhawks: 20 - 39 - 9 (49 points), 8th in Central Division
Kings Team Stats:
Power Play: 15.5% (28th)
Penalty Kill: 81.7% (9th)
Faceoff Win Percentage: 50.5% (15th)
GF/GP: 2.80 (21st)
GA/GP: 2.56 (3rd)
Blackhawks Team Stats:
Power Play: 24.8% (8th)
Penalty Kill: 81.2% (12th)
Faceoff Win Percentage: 45.1% (31st)
GF/GP: 2.69 (28th)
GA/GP: 3.54 (30th)
Kings Notes:
- Forward Adrian Kempe (1-6=7) has recorded two or more points in three of his last five games played against the Blackhawks, dating back to March 15, 2024.
- With his 28th goal, and team-leading sixth power-play goal, of the year on Monday in Minnesota, Kempe sits two tallies shy of third career 30-goal season.
- Captain Anze Kopitar has earned seven points (5-2=7) in his last five meeting with Chicago, including points (1-1=2) in his last two straight and three goals (3-0=3) in his last two consecutive appearances at United Center.
- Forward Phillip Danault returns to Chicago with seven points (2-5=7) across his last five games against the Blackhawks, the club that selected him in the first round (26th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft.
- A native of Elk Grove, Ill., forward Alex Turcotte has found the score sheet (0-2=2) in both of his prior games against the Chicago Blackhawks this season.
Blackhawks Notes:
- The Blackhawks are 8-12-1 against the Pacific Division this season and have been outscored by their opponents 46-50 across the 21 games.
- After an 0-3-1 road trip last week, the Blackhawks returned home for a Tuesday tilt against the Seattle Kraken and lost 6-2.
- Despite the loss, Connor Bedard did find the net with a power-play goal, his 18th of the season. Struggling to score as of late, Bedard's goal on Tuesday was just his second goal in the last 14 games.
- Having beaten the Kings in both of their two previous meetings this season, the Blackhawks have leaned on foward Ryan Donato. Donato has three points (1-2=3) and a shootout winner against the Kings this season.
- After defeating the Kings in his debut for the Blackhawks with a 41-save effort back on March 3rd, Spencer Knight has gone 1-3-0 since with three consecutive losses in his last three outings.
Players to Watch:
Kings: Darcy Kuemper, who has allowed six goals in his last six games while going 4-1-1. During that stretch, Kuemper has a .960 save percentage.
Blackhawks: The 2024 second overall draft pick Artyom Levshunov, who made his NHL debut on March 10th. Now four games deep into his NHL career, Levshunov is still in search of his first goal but has already notched a pair of assists and is averaging 20:54 of ice time. Levshunov is also a -7.
