NHL Playoffs 2013: Kings get back into WCF with 3-1 win over Blackhawks

Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith will miss Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals, despite his pleas that his high stick that caused Jeff Carter to receive 20 stitches wasn’t intended to hit him in the face.

As always, the suspension was explained by NHL Director of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan.

Then he scored.

And he nearly scored again when Michal Rozsifall Rozsival gave him the puck.

If that two-game spell of bad form was just a blip on the radar, I hope the Blackhawks enjoyed it while it lasted. He wasn’t tested much, but when he was he was as solid as ever. Give credit to the Kings’ defenders: Chicago had nothing to work with for most of the game.

There’s just something about L.A. that turns the tables for the opposing team. The Kings showed the kind of defensive hockey that Chicago had put them through the first two games, and the Hawks started to show some cracks in their own end. The penalty kill is as efficient as ever, but you have to wonder if Chicago will be able to win any game in Los Angeles.

Once again, Los Angeles struck first. Red-hot Slava Voynov shattered his stick but still managed to score at 6:37, staking his team to a 2-0 lead.

That wasn’t the only way the second period paralleled the first period. Los Angeles dominated possession again, playing most of the first ten minutes in the Chicago zone. By the end of the frame L.A. had outshot the Blackhawks 9-3.

Keith got four minutes for high sticking, but he’s lucky he wasn’t ejected. For what it’s worth, Keith immediately skated up to Carter and offered a sincere apology.

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