For the second straight year, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings are facing off in the Western Conference Finals. Last year, the Blackhawks were forced to battle back during the series in order to get to the Stanley Cup Finals. This year they are hoping for difference results after taking the first game 3-1 against the Kings.
The Blackhawks are trying to earn their third championship in five years while being the first team to repeat as champions since the Detroit Red Wings did so in 1997 and 1998. The Kings are not short on success either. The team is in the conference finals for the third straight season. They won the Stanley Cup two years ago and look to get another to mirror the success of Chicago.
Both teams have taken similar paths over recent years. It all started by hitting it big in the draft. The Blackhawks got Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The Kings got Anze Kopita. The Kings had several setbacks before winning a championship in 2012. They missed the postseason in both 2003 and 2009 while losing early in 2010 and 2011. The Blackhawks missed the postseason from 2003 to 2008 before jumping back to win a few championship.
Now Chicago is in position to win another. The team shut down the Kings in Game 1 as Toew took care of Kopitar and Dustin Brown. The team managed just six shots without scoring. Their top trio got 16 goals and 24 assists up until the Finals and then quiet thanks to a tough Blackhawks defense. Los Angeles had chances to get in the game, but goalie Corey Crawford took care of that with 25 saves on the night. The Kings are no stranger in come from behind wins. They dropped the first three games to San Jones in the first round before rallying to a win. They rallied from a 3-2 deficit against the Anaheim Ducks to move into the Finals. Do not count the team out.
