PREGAME: Chicago Blackhawks at the Los Angeles Kings

WHEN: Thursday, April 21, 2022, 9:30 p.m. CST
WHERE: BSW, ESPN+, NBCSCH+

Blackhawks Record: 26-40-11 (63 Points, 7th � Central Division)
Blackhawks Last Game: 4-3 OT Win over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, April 20

Kings Record: 41-27-10 (92 Points, 3rd � Pacific Division)
Kings Last Game: 2-1 Win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, April 19

Last Meeting: Tuesday, April 12, 2022: Only last week, the two teams met on home ice for Chicago to try and break a 10-game losing streak, dating back to March 26 against the Vegas Golden Knights. However, going into the third period down 3-1 did not look promising and the Kings were able to come out with the 2 points, 5-2. Blake Lizotte (C) has two goals on the evening and it will be interesting to see how he performs tonight.

DeBrincat: Last night, Alex DeBrincat scored his 40th goal on the season, reaching the mark for the second time in his career. DeBrincat sniped a snapshot off of an assist from Patrick Kane (RW) and Seth Jones (D) to secure the win over the Coyotes in overtime. Right now, DeBrincat sits on 75 points in 77 games played: 40 goals and 35 assists. The first time the left-winger reached this goal tally was during his second career in the NHL, finishing the season with 41 goals.

Vlasic: Alex Vlasic is a 20-year-old defenseman who has only played 10 games with the Blackhawks this season, but last night he appeared extremely promising, slotting in his first career NHL goal in the second period versus Arizona last night. He appeared in the rosters for the first time back on March 19th, after having just arrived at the United Center from Boston University 3 days prior. Since then, he has averaged slightly above 17 shifts per game. Vlasic's future looks bright!

A Look Towards Los Angeles: The Kings are looking to further secure their playoff bid after Jonathan Quick put on a stellar 29 save on 30 shots performance. It was an even match-up against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, however, Adrian Kempe (C) and Phillip Danault (C) both scored to bring them the 2 points, 2-1. Los Angeles sits in 3rd in the pacific division and is looking to remain above the Vegas Golden Knights, who are creeping up behind them in the standings as the regular season comes to a close.