And as he was mobbed by his teammates, television replays caught Seabrook's face emerging from the scrum as he yelled in elation. It was a historic moment for a team that is returning to the Western Conference Final for the first time since it captured the Stanley Cup in 2010. And it's thanks in large part to a play that was all about basic hockey fundamentals."He kept going, going, going and put a little mustard on it and got a fortunate break. Good recognition by him," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I'm happy for [Seabrook]. [That's one of the] things we talk about all the time, put pucks at the net."
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- In the latest episode of talking in circles with Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter, the focus Friday was on his team's size versus the Chicago Blackhawks' speed, a major point of emphasis in the pre-series breakdown of the Western Conference Final."If you actually look at it, their lineup that they had in their last game and our lineup that we had last game is identical," Sutter said. "The size is the same, so I guess we have a problem with their speed."And how do the Kings plan on dealing with the Blackhawks' speed, starting with Game 1 at United Center on Saturday (5 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, RDS)?"Use our size," Sutter responded.What Sutter is saying makes sense when you consider these two points:1. Each team is expected to dress 18 skaters in Game 1 that are on average 6-foot-2,Nike Free 5.0 Women, but the Kings likely will hold an 11-pound advantage on the Blackhawks with an average of 212 pounds per skater, opposed to Chicago's 201. That's not including Jarret Stoll (6-1, 212 pounds), who could return from a concussion to play Saturday.2. The Kings use their weight advantage by deploying a heavy forecheck that includes a lot of crash and bang. It's not a coincidence that they've won six consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff series this way.However, their challenge against the Blackhawks is different than it has been since the start of their run to the Stanley Cup last spring. The question facing the Kings now is,Nike Free 5.0 Orange, how effective can their dump-and-chase game be against the Blackhawks, who are one of the best transition teams in the League largely because they always have two capable puck-moving defensemen on the ice."The challenge that Chicago poses is,Nike Free 5.0 Pink, they've got some big guys on their team and they also rely on their speed and quickness," Kings captain Dustin Brown said. "For us to be successful in our physical aspect we need to put pucks in good spots, make it harder. They've got a lot of good puck-moving defensemen, so it's a matter of putting pucks in the right spots."Kings center Anze Kopitar is aware of what will happen to his team if it doesn't dump the puck properly into the offensive zone against the Blackhawks."We all know they have some really mobile defenseman that can wheel the net, and the next thing you know you're defending in your own zone," Kopitar said. "We want to make it hard on them. We want to be physical