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The Morning Skate: Defending champs in familiar spot

richardsoutgetty

A quick look at the Western Conference finals and notes from Boston’s resounding win against Pittsburgh.

Game 3: #1 Chicago Blackhawks at #5 Los Angeles Kings, 9 p.m. ET (on NBCSN and live online) – Blackhawks lead series, 2-0

Up two-games-to-none and riding a five-game win streak since May 25, the Blackhawks will play their first game at Staples Center since Opening Day (January 19), when they spoiled the Kings’ Stanley Cup banner-raising event with a 5-2 win. The Hawks used that dominating performance as a springboard for a 24-game streak without a regulation loss (an NHL record).

The defending champion Kings are in a familiar position. In Round 1 of these playoffs, they returned home down two-games-to-none to the St. Louis Blues. Then, they rattled off four straight wins, beginning with a 1-0 shutout in Game 3, to advance. This postseason, they remain a perfect record at home (7-0), and have outscored their opponents 18-8 in those games.

If the Kings are to avoid dropping into a 3-0 hole, they will need more output from their star forwards. Neither Anze Kopitar (3 shots on goal) nor Dustin Brown (one shot) has registered a point this series. Mike Richards, who was scratched after warmups in Game 2 with an upper-body injury caused by a hit by the Hawks’ Dave Bolland near the end of Game 1, will be a game-time decision. He is the team’s leading scorer this postseason, with 10 points.

Jonathan Quick, who was pulled in Game 2 for only the second time in 47 postseason appearances after allowing four goals in less than two periods, will return between the pipes for the Kings, opposite the Blackhawks’ Corey Crawford. The Blackhawks are not expected to make any lineup changes. So far this series, the Hawks have gotten points from 12 of their 18 skaters, led by Patrick Sharp (one goal, two assists).

DID YOU KNOW?

Only 10 different Kings players have scored a goal this postseason. That is tied with the San Jose Sharks for the fewest number among all teams that advanced to at least the conference semifinals. Among the other conference finalists, the Bruins and Penguins have gotten goals from 15 different players, the Blackhawks from 12.

WHO ON EARTH IS … TYLER TOFFOLI?

Only five players who have suited up for the Kings this postseason do not have their names etched on the Stanley Cup: defensemen Robyn Regehr, Jake Muzzin and Keaton Ellerby, and forwards Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli. Of that quintet, only the 21-year-old rookie Toffoli has scored a goal. In Game 2, the Scarborough, Ontario native took over the left wing spot on the Kings’ second line next to Jeff Carter and Dustin Penner, due to the upper-body injury to center Mike Richards, and he tallied his second goal of the playoffs and assisted on Carter’s goal.

The Kings’ second round pick (47th overall) in the 2010 draft, Toffoli made his NHL debut in March, and scored his first-career NHL goal in his second game, vs. Phoenix. Earlier this season, he scored 28 goals and 20 assists in 55 games with the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. His performance helped earn him the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie, the same award his current coach, Darryl Sutter, won in 1980 as a member of the New Brunswick Hawks.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Boston 6, Pittsburgh 1 – Bruins lead series, 2-0

Brad Marchand scored on a breakaway 28 seconds into the game – the fastest goal scored thus far this postseason – and the Bruins scored on their final three shots of the first period (Nathan Horton, David Krejci, Marchand) on Penguins goaltenders Tomas Vokoun and Marc-Andre Fleury, as the B’s raced away with a dominating 6-1 win in Game 2 and a two-games-to-none series lead.

Horton, who moved into second place in the NHL postseason scoring race (17 points, three behind his linemate Krejci), had a goal and an assist, his fifth multi-point game of the postseason – all on the road. During the regular season, he had four. Coach Claude Julien (50th career playoff win) and Patrice Bergeron (50th and 51st career playoff points) also hit milestone marks.

The Penguins, who were the NHL’s top-scoring team in the regular season and playoffs, have now been outscored 9-1 in the series, their one goal by Brandon Sutter in Game 2. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have each been held without a point and are -3 on the ice in the two games. The Penguins lost two consecutive at Consol Energy Center for the first time since January 23 and 29, their first two home games of the season. Game 3 is in Boston on Wednesday evening, on NBCSN.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Bruins were the first team this postseason to score a goal in the first minute of play and win in regulation.

GOALS IN FIRST MINUTE OF GAME (ordered by time)

Goal-scorerTeamGame, TimeOpponentGoaltenderOutcome
Brad MarchandBruinsECF, Game 2, 0:28PenguinsTomas VokounWon
Evgeni MalkinPenguinsECQF, Game 2, 0:43IslandersEvgeni NabokovLost
Justin AbdelkaderRed WingsWCQF, Game 2, 0:48DucksJonas HillerWon (OT)
Brian BoyleRangersECQF, Game 5, 0:53CapitalsBraden HoltbyLost (OT)

ECF = Eastern Conference Final ECQF = Eastern Conference Quarterfinals WCQF = Western Conference Quarterfinals

LINKS


  • Anze Kopitar and his line are not making points [L.A. Times]
  • Bryan Bickell’s big playoffs may force offseason exit [Chicago Sun-Times]
  • Michal Handzus carving unlikely niche for Blackhawks [CSN Chicago]
  • Penguins stars to blame for current predicament [CBC]
  • Goalie decision crucial for Pens in Game 3 [Pittsburgh Tribune]
  • Tuukka Rask enjoys limited challenge from Penguins [Boston Herald]