• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Kings look to keep up offensive momentum as they host Blackhawks

Jan 29, 2009 - 11:24 AM Chicago (26-12-8) at Los Angeles (19-20-7) 10:30 p.m. EST

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- gIt's taken nearly four months, but the Los Angeles Kings' offense has finally begun to show signs of life. And it's a good thing, too, because the Kings are about to face one of the stingiest defenses in the NHL.

Riding a rare two-game winning streak, Los Angeles returns home Thursday to take on the Chicago Blackhawks. The second-lowest scoring team in the Western Conference this season, the Kings are coming off a pair of strong performances in road victories over Minnesota and Colorado just before the All-Star Break.

They scored three second-period goals on January 20 en route to a 5-2 triumph over the Wild, then followed that up a day later with a 6-5 squeaker over the Avalanche. The Kings scored five tallies in the second stanza, including a pair by left wing Alexander Frolov, but had to sweat it out as Colorado nearly erased a four-goal deficit before falling just short.

The 11 goals the Kings scored between the two contests were the most they have posted in any two-game span this season. Oddly enough, that came on the heels of a four-game span in which they were outscored, 15-4.

As they get set to face the Blackhawks - who have allowed just 116 goals, fourth-fewest in the league - the Kings have to hope they can carry over their recent momentum after eight days off.

The Blackhawks, still grappling for position in the top half of the West's playoff picture, rebounded from a two-game skid on Wednesday with a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Nikolai Khabibulin made 36 saves, including 15 in the second period, to help put an end to Chicago's brief losing streak.