Geoff JohnsonThe Los Angeles Kings will try to be in the Stanley Cup finals for the second straight year as they visit the Chicago Blackhawks. Game one of the Western Conference finals is this Saturday at 5 PM ET.
The Kings are the favorite as they still are the champions, but the Blackhawks have played the best hockey this season.
Both teams ended up here after winning crucial game 7s. “Yeah, it’s a relief you won the series. It was a tough-fought series,” Patrick Kane said. “Down 3-1 and you come back. At the same time, you realize how good you can be. You don’t want to put yourself in that hole, but for us to get out of it and come back and win, not many teams can say they’ve done that. It proves a lot in here.”
“It’s not the way you want to win a series going down three games to one and having to come back like that,” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. “Given the situation we were in three games ago, it’s pretty amazing. It just goes to show the character that we have on top of the ability and potential that this team has. Looking forward, we need to use that ability and use that confidence that winning a series like this gives us.”
The NHL lines have the Los Angeles Kings listed +130 in the money line to win game one, and the Hawks -150. Chicago has won six of the last 10 games.
