Kings visit Blackhawks after road-trip surge as Chicago reshuffles lines

Teams arrive on different trajectories

The Los Angeles Kings visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday at the United Center in the finale of Chicago’s seven-game homestand. Los Angeles entered at 3-5-2, while Chicago was 3-8 and had lost three straight. ^{[1] [2]}

The Kings were completing a five-game road trip and playing on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the New York Rangers 6-3 on Monday. They won three of the first four games on the trip, accounting for all three of their victories this season. ^[1]

Doughty leads Los Angeles in New York

Drew Doughty recorded a goal and two assists against the Rangers. Artemi Panarin added a goal and an assist, while Taylor Ward, Brandt Clarke, Mikey Anderson and Joel Edmundson also scored. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves. ^[1]

Los Angeles was not expected to have Kevin Fiala, Mats Zuccarello or Alex Turcotte available. Because the Kings did not hold a morning skate after traveling, their projected combinations were based on the Rangers game rather than a confirmed Tuesday lineup. ^[1]

Chicago seeks a special-teams reset

The Blackhawks’ latest defeat was a 3-2 loss to Florida in which they went 0-for-7 on the power play. Ryan Greene and Roman Kantserov scored, and Spencer Knight stopped 31 of 34 shots. ^[1]

Chicago planned four new forward lines, including Greene with Connor Bedard and Kantserov. Oliver Moore was expected to enter the lineup after being scratched against Florida. The changes follow an opening stretch in which the Blackhawks ranked last in power-play percentage and faceoff percentage. ^[1]

Unresolved at publication

Anton Forsberg was projected to start for Los Angeles against Knight, but the official goaltenders and final score remained unconfirmed. The completed game record should determine any subsequent update. ^{[1] [2]}