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Tonight on NBCSN: Kings look to right the ship against Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks v Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 25: Drew Doughty #8 of the Los Angeles Kings and Patrick Sharp #10 of the Chicago Blackhawks collide in the third period at Staples Center on February 25, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The Kings defeated the Blackhawks 4-0. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

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It hasn’t exactly been an easy season for either the Los Angeles Kings or the Chicago Blackhawks, but when they meet up at United Center in Chicago tonight (8:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN) they come into the game with different mindsets.

Los Angeles comes in playing some inconsistent hockey. They’ve lost their last two games and seven of their last 11. In that jumble of games they’ve also got a three-game win streak mixed in. With that frustrating mix of wins and losses, you can see why the Kings are in a battle to get in the playoffs.

The guy who’s the key to victory for the Kings? None other than Mike Richards. L.A. is 17-3-5 when Richards gets a point and while there’s a host of other talent there, Richards is apparently the guy helping make things happen.

Anze Kopitar hasn’t been too bad himself lately as he comes into tonight’s game on a six-game point streak. Even if Marcel Dionne doesn’t like how he’s played this season, he’s handled the criticism well. Fortunately for them they’ve still got Jonathan Quick in goal to save them.

Quick’s season has to have been frustrating for him as he’s 27-19-11 (technically three more losses than wins) but has goalie stats that put him in the top five in the NHL including a goals against average of 2.00 on the nose. You wouldn’t think getting more than two goals a game would be hard for a team with Richards, Kopitar, Jeff Carter, and Dustin Brown but even with Carter added to the mix things have still been inconsistent.

Chicago, on the other hand, has been playing well even in spite of not having Jonathan Toews out there for them. While Toews is out of tonight’s game, the Blackhawks have been getting great play in goal from Ray Emery. Emery will be starting his fifth game in a row as he’s wrestled the starting job away for the time being. His solid play has helped Chicago stay above the fight for playoff spots in the West.

Helping make Emery’s life easier is Marian Hossa who comes into today’s game scoring points in bunches. Hossa has 10 points in his last 13 games and he along with Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane have been picking up the slack in a big way since Toews went out with a concussion. They’ll all need to be on point tonight to score goals on the defensively stingy Kings.