Quotes from Blackhawks locker room after def. Kings 2-1

With Chicago's 2-1 win last night, that pushes their streak to seven straight over Los Angeles and 10-0-1 in the last 11 games vs. the Kings.

Following the game, here's what was being said in the Blackhawks locker room...

Head coach Joel Quenneville on the overall game - "I think that the game that got us back on track was against San Jose, losing 1-0. We talked about being consistent with that kind of an effort and playing that type of style and game and we got rewarded the next two nights. It was a very competitive game tonight. Crawford made some big saves on a few bouncing pucks and we found a way to get through."

Quenneville on scoring - "Scoring first certainly helped. I thought we had a good start to the game and they had some stretches there where they scored and we got a response to it later. I thought we responded to a poor start yesterday and getting the win is important."

Chicago captain Jonathan Toews on the overall game - "It was probably in some ways our best game of the trip. We knew it was going to be a tight one. When you come on the road and you play a team like that, they use the home crowd and play with energy at home. We were smart, we didn’t have many chances against and they had some good penalty kills and chances on the power play. I think all around we played a good game. It’s fun to win those tight ones, especially at the end of this road trip."

Blackhawks game - three points of view from LA blueline

Tonight will be the first match-up of the year between the Kings and Blackhawks. Last season, Chicago took all four games in the series, pushing their win streak over Los Angeles to six straight and they're 9-0-1 in the last 10 meetings overall.

Last hour we looked at some fun facts leading into tonight's game - including notes on Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Sean O'Donnell, Daniel Carcillo and more (link).

Now, three of the Kings' starting defensemen weigh in with some thoughts...

Drew Doughty - "We know how good they are. We know all their skilled players and what they're all about. It's going to be a tough task for us. We need to come out with a win. We can't be satisfied with only getting three out of four points every time. We need to be winning every game if we can against teams like Chicago, and we have San Jose right after that. There are two huge games for us and we really need to win both of them."

Jack Johnson - "They're still a great team, they still have their top players there and they're some of the top players in the league. Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp - those are great players. They're going to be a tough team to play, for sure. I feel like every time we talk about the next team, we're going to say 'they're a tough team.' But, that's just the way it is now. That's the NHL wants it. The margin for error is so small, a bounce here or there can determine a hockey game."

Shane Doan Would Pick Kopitar at NHL All-Star Draft

Anze Kopitar received some recent praise from one of the most respected captains in the league...

Friday afternoon Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes was a guest on The PowerPlay (NHL Radio show) and they were talking about the fact that the Coyotes didn't have any players selected to attend this year's NHL All-Star Game.

Which, if you're looking for a positive, means Doan doesn't have to worry about potentially being the last player selected in this Friday's All-Star Draft (note: the NHL is using a new format this year, where two captains actually hand pick their teams in a televised special airing live this coming Friday).

On the other hand, the hosts wanted to know - hypothetically, if Doan was one of the captains picking the teams , who would be some of the players he'd pick earlier than people might expect?

He responded with "I think Kopitar is an incredible player. I think he'd be a guy that would go high. He's so talented. I like Jonathan Toews and Danny Briere too. Obviously, everybody is going to be picking them high as well. But, Anze Kopitar is as good as there is when it comes to young guys in the league. If his team was doing a little better, he'd be getting the attention he deserves."

In reality, the All-Star Game captains will be Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings) and Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes).

And yes, it will be interesting to see who selects Kopitar...and when.

[UPDATE: Wonder who Kopitar would pick? Click here to see the talented center take on The Mayor in a mock draft]

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Toews, Smyth, Momma and What You Missed...

Researchers say one of the most popular vacation weeks among the American workforce is the time between Christmas and New Year's. With that behind us, it's now on to 2011.

The Kings are home tonight to take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Ryan Smyth had this to say about the game "Chicago set the barrier high with winning the Stanley Cup last year. They have a couple of wins against us this season, which we felt we played fairly decent for the most part. But, (we) fell short of the points."

Jonathan Quick will start in goal for Los Angeles, who will be looking to bounce back after dropping three in a row to Phoenix, Philadelphia and San Jose.

Corey Crawford was in net for Chicago last night, losing 2-1 to Anaheim (their third straight loss also). So, perhaps the Kings will face Marty Turco.

In somewhat surprising news, 'Hawks captain Jonthan Toews will return to the line-up. He was expected to be out several more weeks with a shoulder injury. Instead, he was out just six days.

Kings 'Youth and Promise' Has Familiar Ring to 'Hawks

The team was coming off a run where they hadn't made the playoffs since 2001-02. However, the roster was filled with promising forwards and a few stud defenseman, including one who will be a Norris Trophy finalist for much of the next decade. Which left goaltending as the only question. They responded with a 100-point season, their first in 17 years. Then, they made some noise in the playoffs, but eventually lost.

All was fine though. They had now 'learned how to lose.' Thus, the trendy pick among experts and prognosticators the following season was to say this was the team that would go all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, perhaps winning it all.

No, that quick recap of history wasn't about the Los Angeles Kings. It was the Chicago Blackhawks story in the summer of 2009.

Given the Kings striking similarities right now, you can see why many people are calling them things like 'this year's Blackhawks.'

So, when the two teams meet later tonight it will certainly be a measuring stick game.  Whenever a team faces the defending Stanley Cup Champions it's a chance to compare your progress vs theirs.  This is a little more than that though.  It's almost like a little brother testing his improving strength against an older adversary.

Not only did the 'Hawks win the Cup last June, they also hold bragging rights over the Kings - winning the season series last year 3-1.  All-time, LA needs just one more win to even the series, currently sitting at 73-74-22 vs. Chicago.

Here are five other points of interest in tonight's match-up: