The reigning Stanley Cup champions have found themselves in a bind down 2-0 in their Western Conference finals series against the Chicago Blackhawks, but luckily for the Los Angeles Kings they could seek redemption in front of a home crowd with a win Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. ET.
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Via ESPN:
L.A. Kings coach Darryl Sutter confirmed Mike Richards is ruled out for Game 3 Tuesday night, an incredibly difficult pill for the Kings to swallow as they try to climb out of a 2-0 series deficit in the Western Conference finals.
"It's going to be tough, that's it. You have to band together. Nobody is going to replace him by himself," veteran blueliner Matt Greene said after the Tuesday morning skate at Staples Center. "Hopefully, guys can chip in, get minutes together and give us a game."
Richards influences nearly every facet of L.A.'s game, from special teams to key faceoffs to late-game shifts; he does it all. He also leads the team in playoff scoring with 10 points (two goals, eight assists).
"It doesn't change anything for us," said star center Anze Kopitar. "We still have to play the same way. Do we miss Mike? Of course. He's one of the best players at this time of the year and he's a big asset on our power play, penalty kill, faceoffs, you name it. We definitely miss him but we can't look for him now. We know he's not going to be going and we've just got to do it with what we got."
Just as in Game 2, Jeff Carter will take Richards' spot at center on that line, skating between Dustin Penner and rookie Tyler Toffoli (who might have been the Kings' best player in Game 2, picking up a goal and an assist).
"Well, the first thing, Jeff can play center; otherwise we'd be in a real tough spot," Sutter said Tuesday morning. "It's not really what Tyler brings to that line, it's being able to have a top guy move from wing to the center position."
