Tonight, the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings look to begin climbing out of a 2-0 Western Conference Finals hole against the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The puck drops at 9:00 p.m., and the game will be televised on NBC Sports Network. It can also be live streamed here. The Kings radio broadcast can be heard on 1220 KHTS, while the Blackhawks broadcast is on 720 WGN.
While Kings forward Justin Williams didn't show any nervousness about facing the Blackhawks in a significant hole, he also admitted this is a must-win game. "We've been here, what, three weeks ago?" Williams said. "Obviously it's not do-or-die (in Game 3), but it is."
The Kings need only to look at their home record to restore a level of confidence in themselves. During the regular season the Kings were 19-4-1 at Staples Center, and won all four of their home games in a seven-game victory over the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference semifinals. They have yet to lose at Staples Center during the 2013 postseason.
"Home ice is something we've been able to rely on, and have in our back pocket," Williams said. "I'm (also) not sure why we went 10-1 on the road last year (in the playoffs). Certainly our confidence is high for us coming back home. There's been a lot of success there. We've won every which way there, and it's going to have to continue."
Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook expects a tough fight from the Kings in tonight's game with their backs against the wall and one of the premier goaltenders in the NHL in net.
"We've got to continue to focus on the game (Tuesday) night. They're a great team, L.A. [Jonathan] Quick is a great goaltender. We understand he's going to come back with a better game than he did last night. We have to continue to get pucks to him and make it tough on him."
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