Those following NHL scores have seen Chicago surge to the top of the Western Conference, but they’ll have a tough week ahead of their Saturday night contest in Los Angeles, where the Kings should be well rested.

Blackhawks Kings Odds – Saturday, 10:30 PM ET

Chicago’s road trip got off to a great start with a 5-1 romp in Vancouver against their bitter rivals, the Canucks, but things went downhill slowly after a 5-2 loss in Calgary and then the Blackhawks were hammered 9-2 in Edmonton by the young Oilers. The Blackhawks are still one of the Stanley Cup favorites in your bookie software, but they still have to go through San Jose on Wednesday and Anaheim on Friday before they face the Kings.

Los Angeles had a three-game winning streak snapped in a 4-1 loss at home to Detroit last Saturday, and this week they’ll be in St. Louis on Tuesday and Dallas on Wednesday. This gives the Kings a couple of days to rest their legs and get back on their normal schedule after travelling to the Midwest and Texas.

The Blackhawks are 3-2 in their last five trips to Los Angeles, with three of their games falling under the posted total. This is a meeting of two teams that have their eyes on the Western Conference crown, which the Blackhawks won two seasons ago en route to the Stanley Cup. The Kings are looking to get there and made a few moves in the offseason, and they’re going to be catching the Blackhawks at the end of a long road trip, so take Los Angeles in your online betting picks.