Kings vs. Blackhawks: Each Team’s Gameplan to Win Pivotal Game 4

For the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings, this is each team's most critical game of the season thus far.

That's because heading into Game 4 of the 2013 Western Conference Finals, very little has been decided, and though the Blackhawks hold a 2-1 series lead, the defending champion Kings appear to have every bit as good a chance of claiming a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.

In the NHL, momentum is everything, and after Darryl Sutter's boys climbed back into the series with a 3-1 Game 3 victory on home ice, the ice has tilted at least slightly, because Chicago knows it can't risk having to win a best-of-three series against Jonathan Quick's battle-tested Kings.

Tonight's clash at the Staples Center could be the turning point in the series for either team, so heading into this all-important Game 4, here's what each team needs to do in order to skate away with a victory in Hollywood.

 

Chicago

For the Blackhawks, one of the keys to Game 4 will be to get more pucks on net, because with a goaltender as talented and even-keeled as Jonathan Quick at the other end of the ice, goals won't come easy.

In addition, with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and company up front, Joel Quenville's team has more than enough firepower to do damage offensively, but that all starts with generating scoring chances, especially down low in the offensive zone. 



The Blackhawks need to use their speed collectively against the relatively slower L.A. defense corps (save for Drew Doughty and Slava Voynov), especially on the power play, where Chicago has just one goal on the series.

With Duncan Keith out of the lineup due to suspension, the 'Hawks will also need a big game out of their remaining defensemen and Corey Crawford, because Los Angeles has yet to break out offensively, and if we learned anything last spring, that won't last forever.
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings