The Chicago Blackhawks will look to join the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals when they take on the Los Angeles Kings in a potentially decisive Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Blackhawks became the first team to defeat Los Angeles at the Staples Center in 15 tries; as a result, they have pushed their foes to within one game of elimination.
"I think we can just go into [Game 5] with the mindset that we're down 3-1," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said about his team's attitude heading into Saturday's match. "That's what we've said the last couple games in L.A., obviously being up 2-0 or 2-1. You know the other team's going to come at you hard, but it's up to you to motivate yourself and try and put yourself in that position where you feel like you're in a seventh game or your back's up against the wall."
The defending Stanley Cup champions have progressed further than the two defending champions before them (both Chicago and Boston were eliminated in the first round the year after they won their respective cups) and know that their season could come to an end on Saturday. However, the Kings look to take the elimination situation one game at a time.
"One thing about this group of guys is we tend to play our best hockey when we're really in trouble," Kings Captain Dustin Brown said. "You look at last year in the regular season, I think we were in 13th place with 20 games to go. It's a different situation when you've just got one game to play, but you can draw on being in the trench hole together."
The Kings may have to win without center Mike Richards; the forward was sorely missing from the lineup in Game 4.
"Honestly, I couldn't tell you," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said about Richards' status. "It is doubtful at best."
The Kings have won just one of their first eight road games this postseason.
Prediction: Los Angeles lives another day with a 2-0 win.
Start Time: 8 PM EST
TV: NBC, CBC, RDS
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